On the holy month of Ramadan which began Wednesday night, Muslims fast every day from dawn to dusk. So, it made sense that the murderous terrorists behind bars in Israel would pick this month for their general hunger strike. You’re fasting already, what’s another few hours? Also, you can sneak in a pizza or your favorite Israeli candy, like Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who led a hunger strike of more than 1,000 inmates and was caught on video secretly eating a candy bar in his cell’s bathroom.
But according to Haaretz police and crime reporter Josh Breiner, the Israel Prisons Service was concerned about the threatened massive hunger strike and settled with the terrorists (presumably after negotiating with terrorists). The major concession was that the limits on hot showers were rescinded. In return, the prisoners promised to eat every night.
It was a good day to be a murderous terrorist behind bars. Al Quds reported that Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas, issued a press statement, saying: “With the whiffs of the blessed month of Ramadan, the vessel of victories and conquests, our prisoners record a glorious page in the march of steadfastness and breaking the will of the occupier. And it has no other that bears indications of the future of the battles that our people are waging on all fronts with this enemy.”
A bit on the flowery side, but you get the point. Israel blinked first, praise Allah.
The Islamic Jihad Movement said it supports every step taken by the prisoners in their confrontation with the Prison Service, its procedures, and policies: “We will continue to stand by the prisoners and support them, and we warn the occupation against manipulating the prisoners’ issue, their demands and their rights.”
Awad Al-Sultan, head of the Office of Martyrs, Prisoners, and Wounded in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, also congratulated the prisoners on their victory: “The prisoners’ movement defeated the so-called Prison Service and Ben Gfir (sic. Arabic doesn’t have a V sound) and his government, and was able to restore its achievements that it won over many years with blood and sacrifices.”
The IPS stated: “The prison service has been acting in recent days to thwart the security prisoners’ strike as part of its security and systemic approach. Within this framework, the organization has been careful to maintain the status quo regarding the security prisoners. It has been made clear what would be the ‘cost of the loss’ in the event of a strike. Any other publication on the topic is a distortion of reality.”
What can I say? This, too, shall pass. Have a happy Rosh Chodesh Nissan and a happy Passover.
