The Prisoners of Palestine

"Palestinian security forces in the West Bank have stopped torturing Hamas prisoners..."
Associated Press, Jan. 4, 2010

According to reports from both sides, Hamas prisoners held by the Palestine Authority during the past two years have been subjected to barbaric treatment, including beating with clubs and being suspended from ceilings in painful positions. Fatah prisoners held in Gaza have also been tortured and otherwise abused; in fact, 15 men have died in Gaza prisons compared to only 8 in West Bank correctional facilities.
Considering the worldwide outrage that followed revelations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib Prison a few years ago, one would expect huge protests over the mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, especially among those most distraught by the "plight of the Palestinian people." What did Jimmy Carter know about this, and when did he know it? (1) Until the referenced article about the end of such abuses in the West Bank, I cannot recall seeing even one news account about them. Why?

The Abu Ghraib story was sparked by the photos of abused Arabs, and no such photos are available from the West Bank or Gaza prisons. Also, the humiliation inflicted on Iraqi prisoners by women and the use of dogs at Abu Ghraib has no apparently parallel in the Palestinian prisons. But I think that the contrast between expectation and reality in reports of American and Israeli abuse of inmates is what really distinguishes such stories from those of abuse of Arabs by other Arabs. The Palestine prison case is essentially a "dog-bites-dog" story, which elicits little interest.

Reporters know that prisons in the Muslim World are hell-holes where sadistic treatment of inmates is routine, but western democracies like the United States, European countries and Israel are held to a much higher standard. In fact, pressure from the Obama Administration is one of the factors that led the Palestine Authority (PA) to halt abuses and punish 43 officers for committing them.

I contend that this story is important, and should have been given much more coverage for two reasons:

1. Egyptian mediators are trying to broker a settlement between Hamas and Fatah that could lead to a coalition government for the Palestine Authority. The abuses on both sides show how deep the enmity is between the parties, which may be a greater obstacle to the establishment of a united Palestinian State than all the Israeli West Bank settlements combined.

2. Although the PA has demanded that all Jewish settlers leave the land that they want for the proposed Palestinian state, some of the settlers say they are determined to stay in their homes, no matter what. The recent revelations about how barbaric PA officers have been to their fellow Arabs provides a hint at how they would treat Jews under their control. If any settlers someday wind-up in a Palestinian prison, they should know what to expect. (2)

Hamas militants are ruthless killers, and I have no sympathy for any of them. Yet the way they have been treated by the PA under the moderate leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas speaks volumes about the true nature of the group that is widely considered a suitable "partner for peace."

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(1) Carter maintains contact with several Hamas leaders, so he could have easily learned about the abuse of Hamas prisoners by Fatah.

(2) The Government of Israel, which has also been accused of abusing Arab prisoners, has had no incentive to publicize this matter, especially when it has been supporting the Abbas regime.