Palestinian Territory

Prisoner Swap

: A prisoner exchange occurred between Israel and Palestine on Tuesday. Four hundred forty-seven Palestinians returned to their families in exchange for one Israeli man held captive by Palestinian authorities. This exchange comes during heavy Palestinian and Israeli tension after Palestine submitted a bid for statehood to the UN.

Israel made the trade to get back one of their own. They were willing to give up over four hundred Palestinian prisoners in order to get back just one Israeli soldier. This seems to prove that either Israel has an extremely strong sense of nationalism, or that the Palestinian prisoners’ crimes were not so severe that Israel would not be willing to release them for a very low price. In fact, many Palestinian detainees have been arrested and jailed in Israel for multiple years for simply “throwing rocks.” These prisoners, which include men, women, and children, were also reportedly dealing with extremely harsh conditions including un-sanitary water, lack of food, and physical abuse. Fortunately for Palestine, only one Israeli citizen need be captured in order for hundreds of Palestinians to be released. This realization may work to their advantage in the future. It is quite apparent that both nations would go to great lengths to protect their own people.

Identity

http://tehrantimes.com/index.php/middle-east/3701-palestinians-celebrate-homecoming-of-prisoners

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13989989

October 21, 2011 at 01:47 am