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Israel shows its inhuman and undemocractic side

An Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, is "lost" in battle, not kidnapped as the Israeli claim, 5 years ago. He hasn't been released - despite alleged negotiations with Hamas - and one has to wonder whether that is a result of Shalit being a convenient pawn and good PR vehicle.

Gideon Levy, writing his latest op-ed piece "A society is judged by the way it treats its prisoners" in Haaretz, highlights the plight of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Inhumane treatment and being imprisoned without trial - in the only democracy in the Middle East? as it is always touted.

"About 5,400 Palestinian prisoners are now in Israeli prison, of which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have had a bitter taste over the years. It's not a matter of "thousands of murderers," as people like to portray it. Only some have been convicted of murder; some of their acts were particularly horrific. Two hundred and twenty have been imprisoned without trial, and there are also 180 incarcerated minors, among whom are a few dozen children under 16.

Some of the Palestinians are political prisoners in every sense of the word; they were convicted of "membership" and other political offenses. Most were convicted by the military court system, whose connection to justice is like a military band's to music. Among them are victims of frame-ups by collaborators - they have been jailed without committing a crime.

These are not "thousands of murderers." In any case, they all have rights according to Israeli and international law, rights they do not always receive. Some, especially those from the Gaza Strip, have not received family visits for years. And of course, there are no prison furloughs for Palestinians. Israeli Arab lifers do not even get their sentences reduced, the way any Jewish murderer does, which is scandalous in itself."

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