UN Wants Hunger Strikes to End

In the article “UN Urges Israel to Reach Solution for Hunger Strikers” Elad Benari outlines the problematic hunger strikes that are occurring in Israeli prisons. The prisoners who are striking are Arab terrorist prisoners. In the article Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-moon urges for the end of the strikes and expresses his concern for the conditions of those in the prisons. Another one of his concerns is that those being held in prison have not been charged and Ban wants them to be charged, face trial in regards to international standards. The current strike emphasizes four prisoners, who are in rapidly deteriorating conditions, but their influence has stretched to hundreds, but these strikes aren’t new to Israeli prisons. These strikes have been used several times in the past in order to pressure Israel into releasing the prisoners. Israelis have caved several times in releasing Palestinian terrorists who refused to eat. In another article by Elad Benari he describes a female terrorist, Hana Shalbi, who wouldn’t eat for 43 days. Shalbi was arrested and refused to cooperate with investigators, but after her strike was released.

This article by Benari is trying to inform the reader about the current situation in Israel prisons and how the UN is trying to get Israel to cave to the terrorists and look for an agreement. In my opinion the author isn’t sympathetic towards the plight of the Arab terrorists. One example of this is that he talks about the current health and living conditions of the prisoners and how Ban sees these conditions as being bad, but he gives no examples as to the condition that they are living. Benari’s point of view comes from Israel who probably has no sympathy for those refusing to eat. The Israelis aren’t refusing to feed them, so the condition they’re living in is entirely up to the prisoners. Benari’s position on the strikes is that the prisoners know that if they strike then they will be freed because that is what they’ve seen in the past.

One of the interesting cases that the UN chooses to point out is the condition of Samar Issawi whose health is rapidly declining because of his refusal to eat. But Samar has been tried and sentenced according to international standards and has been serving his sentence for violating an agreement previously made for his freedom. My opinion is that these prisoners have committed a crime and should be formally charged. If they are charged then they have earned their place in prison and if they choose to engage in a hunger strike that is their problem. The Israeli government should not release these prisoners because they refuse to eat. They are more than capable of harming others should they be released. My question would be what is the UN’s magical solution to the prisoners. Let them be free and risk the lives innocent people who could be hurt if the terrorists are set free? Force-feed the prisoners?

The author is getting his information from public officials like the UN Secretary- General, Jerusalem courts, and statements coming out of the EU who urge Israel’s “full respect of international human rights obligation towards all Palestinian detainees and prisoners”. The author does a good job at giving details by pointing out to particular inmates, but fails to tell us how many of those refusing to eat have been officially charged.  Another point the author fails on is telling the reader what the Israeli detention law is and that suspects can be detained indefinitely without trial or charge. Many in the UN and EU feel that this is an aggressive policy. The ability of Israelis to be able to detain suspected prisoners indefinitely is extreme because there is the issue of what if they’re innocent. But as far as the hunger strikers go the pressure from the UN to “fix” the problem or let them go is unreasonable because some of the strikers have been tried and are striking because they want to be freed.