It was truly amazing to see the joy and celebration surrounding the release of three Israeli hostages, who were released this week as part of a prisoner exchange/ceasefire agreement. They appeared to be well-fed and in good condition, though I am sure the psychological scars of their captivity will be with them for a long time.
But, what of the Palestinian prisoners?
90 of them, all women and children, were released the same day. But, we did not see them in mainstream media outlets, or know of their ordeals and the agony they experienced, or witness the celebrations of their families. In fact, Israel prohibited any public celebrations (or expressions of joy) to be made within its borders for their release. The police even visited the East Jerusalem families of released prisoners specifically to remind them of this law. The Israeli narrative is that Palestinian prisoners are “terrorists and hardened Hamas criminals,” who will probably just be hunted down and rearrested or assassinated once Israel gets back all of its hostages—as some Israeli officials have declared in the Hebrew news media…..more
