The hunger strike of nearly 1,600 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails could be coming to an end and none too soon. The strike has left several detainees close to death and even one casualty could set off a mass rebellion, not just within the prison walls but across the occupied territories. Reports suggest Israel's prison service has offered to ease restrictions on Palestinian prisoners, including an end to solitary confinement, the reinstatement of family visits from Gaza and allowing prisoners to take classes and removing a ban on books. Being allowed to take a photo with their families once a year, instead of just once during their prison term, might also be permitted although it's hard to imagine why such a dispassionate restriction exists. But the prisoners' chief demand, a halt to imprisonment without charges, a system called administrative detention that incarcerates some of them for months and even years without charge, has not been met. More than 300 Palestinians are held in administrative detention as Israeli military courts allow imprisonment based on secret evidence. An estimated one-quarter to a half of the 4,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israel's jails are participating in the hunger strike but international attention is riveted on two of those protesting, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla, who would today be marking their 75th day without food. Halahla was recently transferred to a hospital after refusing to drink water. The International Committee of the Red Cross believes Diab and Halahla, along with four other detainees, are in imminent danger of dying. Diab and Halahla are both administrative detainees. Both belong to Islamic Jihad which is fighting for the liberation of Palestine, but in the eyes of their captors, they are terrorists. The two men do not even know what they are accused of because “secret evidence” is a convenient way of bypassing laws and keeping a prisoner, guilty or not, behind bars until further notice.The hunger strike has widespread support among Palestinians and demonstrations have been held across the West Bank and Gaza. It has drawn international attention, with the EU and UN expressing concern. It is on the home front though, where the protests are most significant. Hamas' warning to Israel that if any of the prisoners die while on hunger strike, it will retaliate, cannot be downplayed. The fate of prisoners held by Israel is one of the most emotive issues for Palestinians who see no breakthrough in the many impasses they are mired in. Peace negotiations are stalled and the two men most responsible for the deadlock, Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama, could still be on the job after respective elections. This is how uprisings begin, when people become hopeless and helpless. The first and second intifadas were launched after incidents that on the surface did not merit a full-scale rebellion. But mass revolts do not begin overnight. They are preceded by long-term brutal and unjust practices of a repressive regime that strips their victims of their inalienable rights, their identity and in the case of Palestinians, their lawful land. Once the boiling point has been reached, one lit match sets off the fireball. __
