Israeli Prison Goes Beyond Guantanamo

Though some claim that the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay gets a bad rap, and last year saw the publication of The Gitmo Cookbook, no one is claiming that anyone is actually trying to get caught so they'll be sent there.

But that is exactly the story of the Israeli Ofer prison just out of Ramallah, according to the Globe and Mail.

According to Jacob Dallal, a spokesman for the Israeli army, he has seen dozens of cases from Nablus and Jenin of teenagers purposely trying to get caught with weapons at checkpoints in order to get sent to prison. This in spite of the fact that Ofer was the site of prison riots last year and human-rights groups accused the prison of torture and mistreatment.

In the past, some Palestinian teenagers got themselves arrested for finanacial reasons--the PA paid Palestinians held in Israeli jails a stipend of $200 per month. Now with the cut in Western aid, this has stopped the stipend, but Palestinian youths have other reasons for wanting to go to prison.

One example of the reason some Palestinian teenagers are trying to get sent to an Israeli prison is Mohammed:

Ofer was like paradise. You could go to the toilet whenever you wanted, and we had a good time playing football and table tennis in the big courtyard. I started reading good books in there," he said, his hair short and gelled, and a hint of future stubble ringing his thin face. With a shy glance at his father, he added, "And I could stay up as late as I wanted."

Mohammed was pleased to get a seven-month sentence. He was crestfallen when his father, Qasim, paid a $250 bond to get him released early.

But having fun is not the only motivation for the Palestinian youths who trying to get caught. Mahmoud has long-range plans:

Ironically, another reason Mahmoud wanted to go back to jail was to concentrate on his studies. His 17-year-old sister, Yusra, said that her brother, who was good in school, had spoken longingly of prison ever since he was released the first time.

"He couldn't stand the guys from the refugee camps who were always carrying weapons. He felt like he was suffocating. He told me, 'I can't achieve in school with this chaotic environment around me.' " Her brother is now applying to take his high-school exams from behind bars, Yusra added.

...his mother, who visits him regularly, says he's as happy as he's been for a long time, reading books and dreaming of getting married and moving to Syria.

I don't know if all Israeli prisons are of the same quality as Ofer. If they aren't, then Israel had better do something about it fast--to fill the demand.

According to Mohammed's father:

"If the situation continues the way it is, everybody will be doing it," he said. "Young and old."

Technorati Tag: Israel and Guantanamo and Gitmo.