| by Jonathan Kuttab Last week, the Israelis received the remains of the last Israeli hostage, whose corpse had been buried under piles of rubble and therefore difficult to excavate. Israelis were triumphant and stated that they had succeeded in their major goal of the war on Gaza. After 836 days, their ongoing protest at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv was dismantled, yellow lapel ribbons were removed, and it was claimed that the work of healing after the October 7 disaster can begin. Netanyahu maintains that the task of disarming Hamas completely still remains: not just removing their threat to Israel but their total subjugation and humiliation. But, most Israelis consider the “war” to be over now. The Rafah crossings, contrary to the promises made in the hostage deal, remain closed, the siege continues, and the “surge” of humanitarian aid is still not permitted into the Gaza strip. While Israelis debate and assess the “war” that they now consider ended, Palestinians are still suffering Israel’s continued onslaught against them. It is interesting that the Israeli army is now publicly acknowledging the accuracy of the figures issued by the “Hamas-run Health Ministry” that the number of dead is about 71,000 Palestinians, not counting the thousands believed to be buried under the rubble. The Western media that questioned those official figures, which listed the catalogued names and identity card number of each victim, simply because they were issued by the Palestinian Health Ministry should be ashamed of themselves. For Palestinians, a critical aspect of this “milestone” is the uncertain future of our own prisoners and hostages. Our prisoners, truly hostages, now have little prospect of gaining their freedom. Thousands of them, including Dr. Abu Safieh, continue to languish under terrible conditions without trial or even charges. Other prisoners, including those tried in military courts and convicted of security offenses, are being kept in inhuman conditions, with Ben Gvir, the Israeli Police Minister openly boasting of torturing them, reducing their food in quantity and quality, and denying them the most basic human necessities This is all while Israel society debates the appropriateness of allowing for or even celebrating the rape of Palestinians in prison. At the start of the war, we were told that Hamas should just hand over the hostages and cease firing rockets at Israel and then all will be well. The mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank (who had nothing to do with Hamas) was justified by the presumed suffering of Israeli hostages, both soldiers and civilians. Now that the hostages have been returned, when can we expect to see Palestinian prisoners released, and when can we expect the thousands of bodies still held by the Israeli authorities returned to their families for a proper burial? Will we see a more humane and legal treatment for all prisoners still in Israeli jails and detention centers (over 70 of whom have died from torture during the last two years)? No possible excuse or explanation can be given now other than the racist assertion that Palestinian Arabs are animals, less than human, and not deserving of any positive treatment. We at FOSNA have always maintained that taking civilians as hostages is illegal and should never happen. We have also maintained that all prisoners, including combatants, should be treated humanely until their release at the end of hostilities. We have also maintained that violence is never the answer and that other means must be sought to fight for justice and to achieve one’s legitimate political goals, yet Israel continues to present a different view. By insisting that only naked power should govern the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis it is paving the road for future atrocities. It is, in effect, telling Palestinians that only the taking of additional hostages will ever ensure the release of their loved ones from inhumane prison conditions. Let us remember that the publicly stated reason for the taking of hostages on October 7 was explicitly for the purpose of securing the release of Palestinian prisoners. Indeed many Palestinian prisoners were released as part of the hostage deal. Those who oppose such violent tactics must offer an alternative plan, strategy or method for Palestinians to be reunited with their loved ones. Until that day comes, we continue to advocate for the release of all prisoners. At FOSNA we have initiated a project for Churches or groups in the United States to stand alongside specific Palestinian detainees or prisoners, to communicate with their families, and learn to care for them as human beings. 14 prisoners are now matched with faith communities as part of the Friends of Palestinian Detainees project, and other churches are interested. Please keep these prisoners and the thousands of other prisoners and detainees—hostages—in your thoughts and prayers. It is perhaps much too early to discard those yellow ribbons or to stop caring for those who have yet to return to their loved ones, even though they are not Israeli but Palestinians this time. |
