Dying In Succession - Salem-News.Com

(WINDSOR, N.H.) - A few days ago, Ma'an News reported on the family protests in front of the Presidential headquarters in Ramallah. Ma'an News was one of only a few outlets that bothered to report. Here, in the US, it took over 2 months before any mainstream media outlet mentioned the hunger strike among prisoners in Israel.

Still, such mention is but a whisper. While much of Europe, Africa and Asia and even Central and South America are aware of the strike, names of some of its participants, the purpose and backlash from the Israeli prison system and courts, citizens in the US, ( less than 1%), have a clue. The “greatest” democracy in the world, front man for the “only” democracy in the Middle East, purposely keeps its citizens ignorant. Why?

The easy answer is that such things are not news. People don't care about such prisoner antics. They are in prison, after all. That's the easy cover. Keeping this perception alive is essential to maintaining ignorance.

What possible good would it do to write articles that cover some of the base reasons as to why these people are prisoners? It would open a great big can of thinking about such things as democracy, human rights, dignity, repression, torture, occupation, prejudice and all those many other issues that real people in the very real world actually face. In the US, such matters are okay in novels and movies where they have entertainment value. Reporting on actual existence... reality... is something completely different. When it comes to reporting on something that casts light on the abundant negative acts of the “only” democracy in the Middle East, it is imperative that the “greatest” democracy in the world do everything in its power to clamp a lid on that can. All hell would break loose if people there, or here, ever began to question what they are taught is “democracy”.

Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh. Both now near death; blood seeping through their gums and eyes and noses, erratic heart beats, blood dripping from their bowels. Both prisoners with names and faces and families. Both refusing nutrition for over 70 days. Prisoners. Only they have never been charged with any crime. Never been brought to trial. The Israeli high court denied their petition, earlier this past week, to be charged or released. Netanyahu and the prison authorities refuse to transfer them to hospitals because they believe they have seen worse.

Khader Adnan. His 66-day strike ended in Feburary of this year after his detention was not extended by Israeli authorities. Hana Shalabi was banished to Gaza (not allowed to go home) after her hunger strike which lasted over 40 days and brought her so close to death Israeli officials made both sides of an “agreement” for her release.

They are, or were, prisoners only through Administrative Detention... A method adopted by Israel and the US to hold individuals indefinitely without charge or trial, to deny them any access to evidence or attorneys (in many cases), to deny them any basic human rights without recourse. The cover (justification) for such detention is that these individuals are so dangerous that to afford them any opportunity to defend themselves would expose the intelligence operations of the respective states (United or Israel). That is the standard answer given by mouthpieces for government like Mark Regev.. perhaps the most accomplished liar on record in Israel. There are over 300 Palestinians, alone, being held under these phony pretenses. The numbers of Egyptians, Lebanese, Syrians and others remains unknown.

The Strange Mind of Mark Regev

Mark Regev insists, “This strike is not about human rights. This strike is being led by hardcore Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The leaders of this strike are people who've been directly responsible for brutal acts of terror against innocent civilians, people who blown up people in pizza parlors in coffee shops on school buses,” … except no one has ever produced a single shred of evidence to support Regev's claims.

To advance the “extreme danger to Israel” narrative, Regev carefully ignores the fact these prisoners are striking for an end to abusive solitary confinement, for family visitation rights and access to books and education among other issues.

Regev claims. “If one of these hunger strikers commits suicide, you could have an instigation of violence which no one wants to see, “The concern is that Islamic Jihad and Hamas have an interest in violence.” In his twisted little mind, representing the national logic of Israel, non-violent protests are incitement to violence. If a man dies in prison, it is, apparently, more an incitement to violence than IDF attaching car batteries to the genitals of young Palestinian boys, or beating them and threatening to rape their mothers and sisters. Apparently this would be more an incitement than shooting tear gas canisters directly into the skulls of unarmed protesters or battering them with rifles or shooting them with rubber coated or uncoated live ammo or kicking in the doors of villagers who are asleep and turning their houses upside down, stealing their property or perhaps giving them hours or minutes to evacuate so that their homes can illegally be handed over to “settlers”.

In The Center Ring of the Greatest Democracy On Earth

The media of the “greatest” democracy do not want it known that the vast majority of the prisoners held in Israeli prisons are there because they are Palestinians and nothing more. They are imprisoned because of a program of disruption and demoralization purposely designed and conducted by Israel to destroy the fabric of Palestinian families, villages, and existence. For many years, Israel has made it a daily task for IDF to round up handfuls of Palestinians in their own lands on the feeblest of charges, route them to jails far away from their families and villages, refuse them lawyers, convict them in Israeli courts under laws that apply only to them, and later refuse them visits from family. Some are placed in solitary confinement for months on end and torture is very well documented. Threats of rape and harm to their families as well actual assaults on families and theft from their homes are commonplace acts of the IDF. Putting their best foot forward in response to the strikers, the prison authorities have ruled that prisoners will only be allowed access to their attorneys if they present themselves for the daily prisoner counts.

The media of the “greatest” democracy do not want it known that this “hunger strike” is a last resort for an oppressed people who, having been told the world would back them if they gave up violence as a means to attain freedom from the evil grip of Israel and who then created the largest non-violent movement in history, have been marginalized or completely ignored in their struggle for basic human rights. No...that media instead wants to pretend for all its readers that these are just prisoners.. savage, brutal and highly dangerous prisoners. There are now over 2000 prisoners in Israeli jails who are refusing nutrition.

Are the protests outside the Presidential headquarters in Ramallah helping to resolve the demands of the protesters and end the strike? Even the Ma'an News articles appear to be confused. On one hand, the protesters are expressing solidarity with the hunger strikers. On the other, they are asking the Palestinian “Authority” to explain what they are doing about the strike and the conditions of the prisoners. Guards surrounding the headquarters threatened protesters with arrest..especially journalists. PA Central Committee member, Jamal Muhsein, was heard telling the protesters that the prisoners were the PA's "top priority". Without further explanation, he said the prisoners on hunger strike would eventually succeed. At what? Dying?

Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas), thus far, has said only that the prisoners are his greatest concern and that the PA is focusing on settling this issue. This, with the addition of ,”This is a serious matter. If one prisoner dies, it will be dangerous”, is all he has said. No explanations. No offering to the families of prisoners as to what exactly he or the PA have done or are doing.. or planning to do.

Walking the Walk with Abu Mazen

Instead, the actions of Mazen, which have always spoken more truthfully than his mouth, show him spending his time waiting for a response to a wasted letter he sent to Netanyahu through a 3rd party... yet another stall related to the disingenuous “peace” process... in which he again asks for a restart to the charade with a veiled threat to again pursue action through the UN should Netanyahu offer nothing substantial. Of course, Mazen ignored the immediate response which came in the form of Netanyahu pushing for legitimization of 3 more illegal settlements as well a separate settlement declared illegal by an Israeli high court. Never mind that such a veiled threat speaks so loudly to the fact he never had intention to follow through with the UN on behalf of his own people.

Mazen is seen spending much time having dinners with representatives of UN offices seeking some restart of the “talks”, reshuffling his illegal cabinet in an effort to create a new illegal government with himself remaining as illegal president, thus avoiding promised elections which he has successfully stalled for the past 6 years, and attempting to create a “unity” government with Hamas in which he obtains a Prime Minister position. Of course, he is always working to secure more money to operate his illegal government which, according to him, is severely stressed financially despite the millions that come its way each month from a wide variety of sources including the US, Israel, the EU and other Arab nations. Not surprising is that no one but he and his close officials get to see the actual books.

No Intentions Are No Good Intentions

Israel, then, has no intentions of settling the prisoner issues so long as they can persuade the already morally bankrupt that it is a national security issue and the PA has no intention of working to settle the prisoner issue as it is not a benefit to either their pocket books or Mazen's desire to become King of Palestine (once Israel has, with his help, turned the West Bank into Swiss cheese [with Palestine existing within the holes] and Gaza into a toxic waste dump).

Over the next few weeks, the protesters will begin to die in succession. Most of them will be young men who have never had any genuine opportunity to experience life. Israel will use their demise as an excuse to tighten its stranglehold on both the WB and Gaza and the PA will use these deaths in an appeal for more money from whatever sources will listen to Mazen's lies and buy into his deceit. These young folks will end their lives having, in the sick minds of both Israel and the PA, more value dead than alive.

Some supporters of Palestine believe the strike deaths will create unity and intensify solidarity. They project the Palestinians will double their non-violent efforts to end the occupation by Israel. Too, the world will take notice and more pressure will be put upon Israel internationally to end the occupation.

In a world that idly stands by while the US murders and maims thousand of women and children with the illegal use of drones, idly stands by while entire nations are inundated with depleted uranium guaranteed to kill, maim and deform for decades to come, and conducts global think tanks on how to suppress citizenry legally protesting criminal banks and corporations... I have my doubts.

PA Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, recently commented that Palestinians have to get their own house in order before making any move toward their goal for independence. Breaking from Abu Mazen (there appears to be a bit of friction between them) he has called for Palestinians to go forward with plans for a general election. Still playing politics for his own ends, Fayyad points fingers at Hamas for the lack of unity between Gaza and the West Bank.

What I am certain needs to happen, for Palestine to have any chance at all, is an internal uprising to eliminate Abu Mazen and the corrupt Palestinian Authority. Achieving this, Hamas must meet the same fate. Both the PA and Hamas have done nothing but stall the independence of Palestine and keep it at odds with itself. They have played into the Israeli hands either most blindly or most corruptly. Either way, their continued existence promises a tragic end for Palestine.

M. Dennis Paul, Ph.D. is a Counselor and Conflict Resolution Specialist/Consultant (Mediation/Arbitration/Facilitation) (20+ yrs). His contributions to the Salem-News.com news flow are powerful testimonies to his years of peace activism, organization and education. M. Dennis Paul is an Associate Editor for Salem-News.

He is the Creator of Thought Addiction programs (Lectures Seminars & Workshops) (Intensive 21 day Addiction Recovery Programs designed for Artists, Actors, Musicians & Industry Leaders) residing in New Hampshire (US). (The Website for M. Dennis Paul, Ph.D. is currently under reconstruction) Contact: mdp54@gsinet.net 1-603-478-1544