Sunday June 22, 2008
Free Gilad Shalit. Please.
I don't know Gilad Shalit. I don't know his family, his friends, his circumstances. I don't know what he did in his military service, I don't know his favorite food and drink and whether he had a girlfriend or not. All I know is that he is alive, that he was captured in a successful raid on some Israeli outpost near Gaza, and that he's being held captive for over a year now.
I don't know who's holding Gilad Shalit. Yet I have this urge to address him. To talk to him, directly.
I'm confident that your perspective justifies this action. I'm sure that in your mind, you're promoting the cause. Whatever the cause is , quite possibly, you actually are promoting it. I'm sure that the pain that you've caused, and are still causing to many is nothing compared to the cause. You are devoted to it, you see yourself as a small part of a bigger organization dedicated to a purpose. The big purpose. You know that you are almost successful in bringing an entire nation to its knees. Quite possibly, you are. But you can do more. A lot more. For the promotion of your cause. You can actually become a hero.
But let me offer you a slightly different viewpoint. Possibly a better way to achieve your goal. Possibly, a breakthrough. Just look at it, consider, digest, while there's still time. Free Gilad Shalit.
At first, it may seem as counterproductive to you at first. You may actually think of this suggestion as moronic. But please consider the following. You get up tomorrow, make a few phone calls, arrange a pick up, and get Gilad Shalit back home. Tomorrow. You will earn something that Israelis and Palestinians have lost long ago. Trust. A tiny little shred of trust. Millions of Israelis will celebrate the return of Gilad, and it will buy you and your people so much more than thousands of dead Israeli soldiers. One life. Think about it. You may have the key to some peaceful resolution between our peoples.
Free Gilad. Free Gilad today.
Posted at 09:00PM Jun 22, 2008 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal | Comments[1]
This is a personal weblog, I do not speak for my employer.
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Here are the facts:
Palestinian Prisoners: The Facts
- Since the beginning of Israel’s full-scale military occupation of Palestine in 1967, more than 650,000 Palestinians have been detained by the Israeli military. This represents over 15% of the total Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), making Palestinians one of the populations most subjected to incarceration in the world.
- From September 2000 - April 2006, more than 45,000 Palestinians were arrested by the Israeli military.
- In April 2006 at least 9,599 Palestinian prisoners were being held in Israeli jails.
- In April 2007 the number of imprisoned Palestinians increased to 11,229.
- The 11,229 Palestinian prisoners now in Israeli jails include 104 women, 375 children of both sexes, and 19 mothers whose children are imprisoned with them.
- Approximately 3,800 Palestinians are being held in civil prisons. The remaining prisoners are held in Israeli military detention centres and prison camps.
Israeli Military Regulations
- The arrest and detention of Palestinians living within the OPT is governed by wide-ranging military regulations that govern every aspect of Palestinian civilian life.
- There are approximately 1500 military regulations governing the West Bank and over 1400 governing the Gaza Strip.
- Israeli Military Regional Commanders issue military orders, which often remain unknown until implementation. Regional Commanders can issue new military regulations at any moment.
The Process of Detention
- Palestinians are tried within Israeli military courts located within military facilities in the OPT. These tribunals rarely fall within the required international standards of fair trials.
- Under Israeli military regulations, a Palestinian can be detained for up to 18 days without the Israeli military informing the detainee of the reason for his/her arrest and without he/she being brought before a judge.
- Following or during the 18 days of detention, a detainee is sent to an interrogation centre, charged with an offence, given an administrative detention order, or else released.
- The majority of Palestinian prisoners are being held in detention facilities located outside the OPT. They are mainly held in the An Naqab (Ketziot), Telmond Compound (which includes HaSharon and Ofek prisons), Megiddo, and Addamoun Prisons.
Interrogation and Torture
- A Palestinian detainee can be interrogated for a total period of 180 days. During this time he/she may also be denied lawyer visits for a period of up to 60 days.
- The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has documented Palestinian detainees being subjected to torture during interrogation (see our Torture fact sheet for more information).
- Since the occupation began at least 69 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons as a direct result of torture during interrogation. Fifty of them have died since September 2000.
Administrative Detention
- Administrative detention refers to the detention of individuals without charge or trial, and is authorized by administrative order as opposed to judicial decree.
- Administrative detention is a violation of International law as it strips those subjected to it of their right to a free and fair trial.
- The right to a free and fair trial is afforded to all individuals under the 1949 Fourth Geneva convention and by Customary Law.
- As of June 2007 Israel was holding approximately 830 Palestinians in administrative detention.
- Administrative detention is routinely used as a form of collective punishment by the Israeli military against Palestinians.
- Collective punishment is illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
- Administrative detention is indefinitely renewable under Israeli military regulations. A detainee may be given an administrative detention order for a period of between one to six months, after which the order can be renewed.
- The example of Al-Haq fieldworker and human rights defender Ziyad Hmeidan, who was arbitrarily deprived of his freedom for 20 months from 2005-2007, clearly illustrates this policy. Neither Ziyad, nor his lawyer, were ever informed of any charges against him, nor the reason for his arrest and detention. This was a violation of his fundamental right to due process, rendering his entire detention both arbitrary and illegal under international law.
- Administrative detention is based on secret evidence brought forward during military tribunals, to which neither the detainee nor his/her lawyer have access.
Child Prisoners
- More than 4,000 Palestinian children have been arrested since the start of the second Intifada.
- Under military regulations in force in the OPT, a child over the age of 16 is considered an adult. This is contrary to the defined age of a child as under 18 according to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, to which Israel is a signatory.
- In practice, Palestinian children from the age of 12 onwards may be charged and sentenced in military courts.
- Between the ages of 12-14, children can be sentenced for up to 6 months for minor offences, including throwing a stone.
- After the age of 14, Palestinian children are tried as adults, in violation of international law.
- There are no juvenile courts for Palestinian children. They also frequently serve their sentences in cells with adult criminal prisoners, which is in violation of international law.
Prisoners and International Law
- Under the Fourth Geneva Convention to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War:
“Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited” (Article 49).
“Protected persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied country, and if convicted they shall serve their sentences therein” (Article 76).
- According to the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty:
“All disciplinary measures constituting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment shall be strictly prohibited, including corporal punishment, placement in a dark cell, closed or solitary confinement or any other punishment that may compromise the physical or mental health of the juvenile concerned.”
Posted by Imad Ghaleb on June 23, 2008 at 12:26 AM CST #