Hamas Complaining Over Treatment Of Palestinian Prisoners--The Heart Bleeds (Update: 2 Hamas Videos Mocking Shalit)

Awwww, Hamas is all upset that Hamas prisoners in Israeli prisoners are losing privileges above those required by international law:

Hamas operatives who are imprisoned in Israel have announced that they will go on a 24-hour hunger strike starting Monday, in protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's intention to revoke some of their privileges.


Israel has placed at least seven senior Hamas operatives in solitary confinement and the strike comes in response to this, Ynet has learned.

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Israel's Prison Service refused to confirm or deny the report, however sources confirmed that the security establishment has decided to place the prisoners in solitary confinement to deny them visits.

The government's plan aims to prevent contact between the various Hamas inmates who will be scattered in separate wings or different facilities. They will not be allowed to share prison cells or stay in adjacent cells. Some of the prisoners will also be put in solitary confinement.

Prisoners will also suffer a reduction in the amount of meat they eat and will receive meat dishes only once or twice a week. They are currently allowed to collectively buy meat, chicken and vegetables together on top of their prison meals. This practice will now be banned. The Palestinian prisoners' access to their special canteen will also be limited.

The heart bleeds.

Hunger strikes for Hamas prisoners is nothing new--Wimpy Hamas prisoners pulled a hunger strike last month too.

Just to keep this in perspective, The Globe and Mail in 2006 reported that because of the excessively good treatment of Palestinian prisoners--Palestinians were actually trying to get into Israeli prisons:

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.

Recently, I blogged about how a Palestinian terrorist serving 3 life sentences had Facebook accounts--where they wrote about Jihad. The Maariv article concludes:

Prisoners can now watch TV and receive money from their families and from the Palestinian Authority to do shopping from the prison’s canteen. Those who want to pursue university education can do distance learning.

Prisoners, says Maariv, have access to fast internet and the demand is high in prisons for 3G cell phones in order to send and receive multimedia messages.

The loss of such extravagant privileged is in response to the fact that Hamas does not abide by international law and has not allowed Red Cross access or any kind of communication with Gilad Shalit for the past 2 years.

Instead, there is a Facebook page about capturing a female soldier as a partner for Shalit

So much for the brave Hamas terrorists who can jump through fire.

UPDATE: Here is how Hamas depicts Shalit in 2 videos that mock him.





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