For most Israelis the matter of the hunger striking terrorists imprisoned in Israel does not interest them, but in reality, the hunger strike may be the precipitating factor that launches the next intifada or wave of widespread Arab violence and attacks.
The strike began about 76 days ago, when four persons were arrested under the authority of administrative orders, apparently to prevent them engaging in terrorism against Israel or Israeli targets. The original hunger strikers demanded that they be charged with a crime and tried in a court of law or set free. The momentum of their actions has spread and today, some 1,800 imprisoned “security prisoners” are in various stages of the strike, with an increasing number undertaking a more stringent strike daily, refusing to drink water.
Today, Sunday, there were four prisoners listed in critical condition with at least an additional five reportedly slipping into the verge of unconsciousness.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has called upon Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to hear the demands of prisoners and respond, making this a prerequisite to the resumption of negotiations along with other PA demands.
Israel has released two of the hunger strikers a number of weeks ago, signaling the hunger strikers that their efforts can achieve results. This was before the strike included so many prisoners however. While the hunger strike is reported in the news it is not perceived as a major issue but in actuality, as things are progressing rather rapidly it is likely that support for the hunger strikers will continue spreading through the PA areas as well as among Israeli Arab citizens.
Over 100 police including Yassam commando forces were on hand near the entrance of Maale Adumim at about 4:00pm as tens of Arabs in that area protested in solidarity with the hunger strikers. Similar protests have been held in PA autonomous areas.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
4 Responses
Maybe not politically popular, but there is an easy answer to intifadas. IDF needs to notify that there will be no clemency for anyone involved in any activity that compromises the safety of any Israeli. Thye promise is that action will taken to shoot to kill anyone who even tries to destroy property or the lives of Israel or its population. No arrests, no jails, no trials, no negotiations. Bodies will be kept for 24 hours, pending return for burial. Otherwise, corpses will be disposed of without a care in the world for Muslim rituals.
This cannot be an empty threat. Hillary and Obama need to keep their wretched pro-terror mouths shut.
#1, right on! I hope that all those horrible arabs die soon, and I hope the Israelis finally get some sense and show some backbone here.
Everything and anything is an excuse for a new and violent INTIFADA.
They’ve actually got a point: Israel’s “administrative detention” laws are an atrocity, and should be repealed. But these terrorists should instead be held as the enemy combatants they are. Every country that is at war holds captured enemy combatants, usually for the duration of the war, unless they can be determined not to pose a threat. The USA currently holds hundreds such prisoners. So how could anyone complain if Israel were to do the same? But it would mean Israel acknowledging that a state of war does exist between us and the Arabs who are trying to destroy us ch”v.