Israel Matzav

What does Israel gain by imprisoning terrorists?

Seven years ago, I wrote a post describing the conditions under which Ahmed Saadat and his fellow assassins (of Israeli Minister of Tourism Rechavam Zeevi) were being held. My post was based on an article from the Times of London (before the paywall):

Palestinian guards confirmed yesterday that Ahmed Saadat, a leading militant captured by Israeli troops in the raid, kept birds and flowers in his quarters. Western officials said that Saadat in effect used other prisoners as “domestic staff”.

An official told The Times that Fuad Shobaki, the alleged moneyman behind a 2002 weapons shipment intercepted by Israel, smoked up to five Cuban cigars a day and was known as “The Brigadier” to inmates and staff. He was also seized.

“Saadat and Shobaki were very much in charge,” one prison source said. “These guys were running the prison. They did what they wanted, when they wanted.”

The fact that the three terrorists at the top of this post (Saadat, Marwan Barghouti and Samir al-Kuntar) met in an Israeli prison ought to tell you all you need to know about the conditions under which 'Palestinian' terrorists are held.

But that was then (2006 and 2008) and this is now. Anat Berko reports that it's only gotten worse.

The conditions of the security prisoners are the responsibility of the Israeli government, which wants peace and quiet within the prison walls because every hunger strike ignites the Palestinian street. Between the abduction of soldiers and the peace process, the security prisoners are certain they will not serve their full terms. That certainty makes them stronger and gives them hope that they will be released fairly shortly even if they were sentenced to consecutive life terms. In the meantime, most of them are busy with their studies, planning what they will do when they are released. They often told me that the next time we met it would be in their homes in the Gaza Strip, I was invited, I had nothing to fear, they would watch over me, after all, we had drunk coffee together in prison.

The prisoners' conditions are monitored and improved by the various Palestinian prisoners' clubs, depending on their organizational affiliation. They receive money for the prison canteen and their families receive monthly allowances. The canteen overflows with food, beverages and all the popular brands. The prisoners especially like American merchandise. Timberland hiking boots are the latest fad. By way of comparison, the canteens used by IDF soldiers have less variety. According to the prison authorities, the prisoners have the same rations as IDF soldiers. In reality, the prisoners' menu is superior to that of front-line soldiers. If they like, the prisoners can cook for themselves and improve the food with additions from the canteen, and once even managed to post pictures on Facebook.

It is almost impossible to enumerate the benefits of being a security prisoner. Terrorists can finish their studies, and the younger ones get fictitious matriculation certificates certified by examiners paid by the Palestinian Authority. Until recently, adult terrorists were allowed for bachelors', masters' and doctoral degrees in the Open University, taking courses in Jewish studies, Zionism, etc., and perfecting their Hebrew.

Security prisoners also have extensive medical benefits, including advanced dental work and complex operations, as noted, courtesy of the Israeli taxpayer. They refuse to work while in prison, even though they would be paid, because they do not want to serve the "Zionist enemy." They prefer to spend their time planning terrorist attacks to be carried out by their organizations, propagandizing and paving the way for less-hardened terrorists to follow in their footsteps in a life of anti-Israeli terrorism. Many leave prison healthier, better educated, and better connected – both socially and professionally – than when they entered. With their release they can add the important note "former security prisoner in an Israeli jail" to their resumés, enabling them to advance more quickly through the ranks of their various organizations. By imprisoning Palestinian terrorist murderers, the State of Israel does not achieve deterrence; no attempt can be made to rehabilitate or reeducate them because they reject the idea and do not cooperate. They simply stew in their own juices and become more dangerous.

Depriving a person of his freedom is the worst possible punishment that can be imposed, but society deserves justice, its victims have to be avenged, and that is also part of the philosophy of punishment. In the saga of the Palestinian terrorist prisoners in Israeli jails, the trials and tribulations of imprisonment, represented as overwhelming, are actually minor. The Israeli jails have turned into hothouses for breeding terrorists; they are laboratories which turn petty terrorists into specialists, and often with diplomas.

Read the whole thing. 

What benefit do we get by holding these people in prison? Do we keep them off the streets? That's not much of a benefit if we continue to let them command terror operations and train terrorists from their jail cells.

What we should do is impose a death penalty on terrorists who murder Jews. Any terrorist released should be sent abroad. We can drop them by helicopter in Syria or Lebanon without much danger to our pilots. The current situation is intolerable and cannot be allowed to continue.

Labels: Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian terrorists, prison conditions

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:18 PM