One of the biggest and widely recognized rivalries and geopolitical tensions anywhere on the face of the earth is the one existing between Israel and Palestine. According to most leading politicians and historians, the famous Two-State solution is never going to work nor is it ‘implementable!’
The rising cause of concern for the state of Palestine is that Israel continues to create housing facilities inside its territory and freely so. On the other hand, to its defense, Israel suggests that it can never take Palestine lightly. The day it goes into a state of Armistice, drops its weapons and remains ‘shut-eyed,’ that will be the day the Muslim Brotherhood will align together to raise Israel to a state of dust.
Who’s to know and decide as to who’s correct in this situation? But the truth is, every rocket fired and tear-gas launched on the face of the Israel-Palestine border further downs the chance for peace to blossom in an integral and beautiful part on god’s mighty earth; a patch of land that has more to offer than just tears, venom, hatred or bloodshed.
But the news at this time confirms that the last month of August saw a rise in Israel hostility towards its Palestinian neighbors. According to a Human Rights Organization report, as many as 470 Palestinians were kept in Israeli captivity last month.
That’s a terrible figure and it instantly sends a shiver down many a spine!
In fact, there’s an even worse piece of news. It is also believed that at this point in time, 220 minors and 38 women still remain confined in Israel’s captivity.
Here’s what needs to know to understand the predicament of the Israel-Palestine crisis:
“The detainees included 50 minors and 11 women,” said a joint report on Monday issued by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees, the Palestinian Prisoner Society, and the Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.
“A total of 162 residents of the occupied East Jerusalem were among those arrested,” the report said. “Currently, there are 7,500 prisoners in Israeli jails,” the NGOs said, adding that 500 Palestinians are currently being held under Israel’s policy of “administrative detention,” under which prisoners can be held for renewable six-month periods without charge or trial.
Administrative detention, truth be told, isn’t anything new to have surfaced in the Israel-Palestinian relations. This has been a government-driven policy that has remained active for several decades together. In fact, where history serves a reminder then the first time where Israel put Palestinians into detention was back over four and a half decades back in time. To that end, it’s worthwhile to know that the policy of administrative detention was first established by the British Colonialist forces during the period of the British Mandate in Palestine (1923 to 1948).