Absolutely loving this! Don’t let me stop you, yekke2 and SDD, this is really brightning up my day. I’m not even going to start attempting to address the halachic discussion as dealt with above, as I have neither the inclination, the patience, nor the necessary knowledge.
I will simply address the actual question, which admittedly isn’t as interesting as the one Y2 and SDD are adressing. In the case of a non-Jew, for whom suicide is not an issue (probably), should the government involved, in this case the Israeli government, force feed those prisoners?
It is a contentious issue. On the one hand, if somebody wishes to kill themselves, why not let them? As one poster has pointed out, it can hardly increase the animosity towards Israel. But, as appealing as that sounds, I like to think of myself as a realist. And whilst animosity in general may be unaffected, a dying Palestinian would give them a cause celebre to rally around, and it would likely lead to an incidental increase, if not in the long term, than in the short term.
I agree that this is ridiculous. Why should a man starving himself mean that his cause has any more merit? Rationally, it should not make a difference, as another of you has alreaddy pointed out. But realistically, it does. For example, the case of Bobby Sands was a significant boost for the Irish Republican cause. Despite it not making much sense, the image of a man starving to death voluntarily is an arresting one, and would lead to problems for Israel.
So the choices are simple, in real terms. We could allow the prisoner to die. whilst all of us agree this should not represent a PR victory for the Palestinians, the fact is it does, and we should accept that. It would get into newspapers, and,, wrongly, would damage Israel both in terms of image and in real terms, in increased attacks. We could let them out early, as the Israeli government did a few weeks back. This is allowing oneself to be blackmailed, and should not take place. The only alternative, although not a pretty one, is to force feed. It is the lesser of three evils.