Free at last: A Palestinian prisoner reuniting with his family after his release. Global human rights groups and the UN have pointed out that many of the Palestinian prisoners, including children and activists, have been detained by Israel for minor or political reasons. — Reuters
IT’S good that the government has been upfront and transparent in informing the country that Malaysia will accept 15 Palestinian prisoners of war as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza.
Given the complexity and sensitivity of the matter, some countries would have wanted to keep such a move confidential and off the public radar.
But Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Hasan has, rightly, announced the decision made by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member nations such as Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, and Pakistan in accepting some of the Palestinians.
Some of these prisoners have been detained by Israel without trial for over 20 years and will not be allowed to return to Palestine.
Several countries have been approached or have agreed to accept the prisoners released under recent ceasefire agreements between Israel and Hamas.
These agreements often stipulate that certain freed prisoners must be relocated abroad to mitigate security concerns.
It’s not just these prisoners, almost the entire population of Palestine has been driven out by Israel.
The Israelis have bombed Palestine to the ground, killed thousands, and want to move these people away from their homeland.
Palestinians walking beside the destroyed Abdul Aziz al-Khalidi mosque in Gaza. The Israelis have bombed Palestine to the ground, killing thousands. The Zionist state now wants to move these people away from their homeland. — AFP
Let’s be honest, there will be Malaysians who are apprehensive of these 15 Palestinian prisoners due to security concerns as well as misplaced prejudices and misinformation. They probably see these prisoners as “terrorists”.
From the Israeli perspective, Palestinians detainees are all “terrorists” involved in violent attacks or security-related offences, with some involved in groups like Hamas or Islamic Jihad, which Israel and the United States consider terrorist organisations.
Let’s not forget that the African National Congress led by the late Nelson Mandela was also once declared a terrorist organisation.
It has long been Israel’s practice to keep prisoners in jails without formal charges or trial. This is justified by the Zionist state as necessary to prevent imminent security threats.
From the Palestinian perspective as well that of the international community, these people are freedom fighters or simply people who are defending their rights to their homes and land, and to exist as a state.
Palestinians and human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations have pointed out that many prisoners, including children, activists, and political figures, were imprisoned for minor or political reasons.
They include “offences” such as throwing stones at Israeli soldiers or settlers, with sentences reaching several months or even years.
Many have been arrested and jailed for Facebook posts that Israel interprets as incitement.
Under what is called “administrative detention”, thousands of Palestinians have been held without trial for months or years, based on classified evidence they or their lawyers cannot see.
In July 2024, the UN Human Rights Office published a report detailing concerns about the arbitrary and incommunicado detention of thousands of Palestinians by Israeli authorities since October 2023.
They included medical staff, patients, and residents fleeing conflict and denied access to legal representation, and subjected to ill-treatment, torture and sexual abuse.
The UN has also said Israel detains 500-700 Palestinian children annually for minor offences.
In July 2012, the UN Special Committee on Israeli Practices reported that mistreatment of these children often begins from the moment of arrest. More than 10 years later, the abuses haven’t changed. In fact, they have got worse.
Many of us have probably watched too many Hollywood movies where Palestinians are painted as the bad guys, the terrorists, as part of the Israeli’s narrative on the culture of fear.
The highly popular Israeli TV series Fauda on Netflix is one example of how convincing the narrative can be.
It is understood that the 15 prisoners to be brought to Malaysia are classified as those “creating fear among Israeli citizens’’ which is always sufficient to jail thousands of Palestinians.
The bottom line is this – there is little point in talking about supporting the Palestine cause without being committed to an international movement to bring about a ceasefire there.
Attempts to find a peaceful solution are fragile and as we can see, fighting has broken out again this week. Worse, Israel has staged one of the biggest attacks against the Palestinians during the holy month of Ramadan.
My entire perspective of the Palestinians changed dramatically when I went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem two decades ago.
I saw with my own eyes how the Israelis openly bullied and abused ordinary Palestinians. Often, a simple 30-minute journey home can take hours, as they are stopped and checked, and made to stand under the scorching sun for no valid reasons.
It’s not just mosques that have been shelled but also churches, such as the 1,600-year-old Church of Saint Porphyrius, which was struck by an Israeli air strike on Oct 19, 2023, for sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians.
In 2023, the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, formerly known as the Baptist Hospital, experienced multiple attacks, resulting in the deaths of nearly 500 Palestinians and injuries to over 300.
Fighting the cause of the Palestinians will become tougher from now as countries, and even ordinary people including students in the United States, have been punished for simply speaking up.
Student activists have suddenly become terrorists. Such simplistic classification simply depends on which side you are on.
