Dispelling Israeli myths about Palestinian prisoners
A prisoner making a phone call in Gilboa Prison, 28 February 2013
Oren Ziv writes in +972:
The escape of six Palestinian political prisoners from Gilboa Prison this past week has both enraged and enraptured the Israeli public and media. For many, the fact that the prisoners, who had been involved in or responsible for attacks that killed Israeli civilians, could flee a maximum security prison and evade capture has been enough to inspire awe.
The flight quickly became a social media sensation replete with memes and even Rosh Hashanah greetings with the face of Zakaria Zubeidi, the former commander of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade in Jenin and the most famous of the six fugitives. By Saturday morning, four of the prisoners, including Zubedi, had been re-captured inside Israel.
Surprisingly, a large number of Israelis have been expressing sympathy toward the prisoners even while deeming them “terrorists”; this appears to largely stem from being enamored by Hollywood-esque aspects of the escape, from the tunnel dug with a spoon inside the prison cell to the massive failures of the Israel Prison Service (IPS). But among the Palestinian public, the sympathy is real and widespread, with celebrations and calls to aid the prisoners with food, water, and shelter, and an overwhelming refusal to cooperate with Israel’s efforts to capture them.
The Israeli authorities responded by arresting the fugitives’ family members — none of whom were suspected of having any part in the escape — as part of a pressure campaign to push the fugitives to turn themselves in. The Red Cross also informed the families of all Palestinian prisoners that the authorities would cancel prison visits until the end of September as punishment.
If there is one issue that unites Palestinians in the occupied territories, it is that of political prisoners. According to the Palestinian Authority, one in five Palestinians has sat in an Israeli prison since the occupation began in 1967. In a reality in which any child can end up spending months in a military prison simply for demonstrating in their own village, prisoners are given a special status in Palestinian society.