One soldier captured one wounded by Hamaz in return for Palestinian men, women and children in Israeli jails.

By any stretch of imagination a most disproportionate exchange. So who are these men and women in the Israeli prisons?

Most of them are those who have been dragged out by the Israeli soldiers from homes in the middle of the night or before dawn, or by surprise raids on farms and refugee camps on mere suspicion of wrong doing. Israeli armies enter Palestinian cities, towns, villages and refugee camps and carry out their atrocities killing and arresting.

Military power in the hands of the mighty made even mightier with the help of Bush and his government aided by the American Zionist Christians.

The children in Israeli prisons:

“Rakan Ayad Nasrat was arrested by Israeli forces one September on his way home to Jericho from Bethlehem.

“While in Israeli custody, Rakan has been sexually assaulted by a soldier, severely beaten by prison guards, threatened with electric shocks and subjected to long periods of solitary confinement.

“He has also tried to commit suicide four times.

“Rakan is 12 years old, and a prisoner in Israel.”

More than 95% of Palestinian child prisoners have no special facilities, or special treatment or privacy. Contrary to all international regulations the children are tortured, treated with inhumanity, and exposed to degradation and sexual abuse.

The Israeli youth is a minor until he reaches 18, the Palestinian youth in Israel is a minor until he is 16. When the Palestinian child prisoner reaches 16 he is tried as an adult prisoner.

Since the new Al Aqsa Intifada of September 2000 more than a 1,000 detained while they were children now continue to serve prison terms. About 90% of these children are guilty of THROWING STONES and therefore considered dangerous. They pose “Security Threats.”

More than 2,200 minors, guilty of security threats mainly have been imprisoned since the start of the Intifada.

Footnote:

Intifada literally means “shaking off,, to set free from Israeli oppression. The first Intifada started on 8th Dec 1987 when four Palestinian men queuing at a checkpoint into Gaza were crushed to death by an Israeli army transporter. The second Intifada started in Sept 2000 when Sharon with over 2,000 Israeli soldiers desecrated the Al Aqsa Mosque and killed 4 people.

The world watches as a humanitarian crisis escalates by the hour in Lebanon. For more than two weeks we have stood by as the country has been plunged into death and destruction. First the power plant destroyed cutting off electric supply, leaving civilians with no lighting, air-conditioners, power for water and sewage plants, no communication, and food rotting in fridges. From then on horror upon horror has befallen the innocent.

The Israelis, with full fire power backing from the US, have savagely destroyed the country and its people with the excuse of seeking out Hezbollah. The aerial bombardment has paralysed the country, airport disabled, roads destroyed, bridges blown and sea access has blocked by the Israeli navy. No escape for thousands, so escape for the poor, the old, the children and the disabled. Wounded cannot be moved and food and aid cannot be brought in. Even those who had the means to get out could not. Foreign governments managed to airlift and ship out those with foreign passports many of whom will be displaced persons in their own countries. Those who have fled have left behind families and friends.

The ones who have sought shelter in bunkers or refugee camps are not safe. Targeted bombing they call it. But the targets have been “miss-targets” or have these mistakes have been carried out purposely. Even when the targets were accurate more civilians were in line of fire than the Hezbollah. More than 700,000 civilians have been made homeless, thousands maimed and injured and close to 700 killed, not counting bodies under rubble in areas unsafe to get to. More than one third of the dead and injured are children.

And all this now for two kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Two men in exchange for Lebanese prisoners languishing in Israeli jails.

Surely there are other ways of negotiating.

A monk I saw this morning, not far from me, in grey, happy, sacred. We connected. He smiled a living smile, a transforming smile. His joy beautiful stirred me, brought a tear. A deep smile emanated within me too and stayed. A taxi driver cut across my road dangerously close, I smiled, waved him on. He waved back, apologetic. I see the monk’s face in other faces, not old, not young but in widely wrinkled smiles. This monk, his joy and his smile will remain with me. We will meet again, and connect a kind face, a small brass bowl.