The Palestinian Authority's Al-Hayat Al-Jadida this week published an article that even Israel's biggest critics may not be able to swallow. Iran's IRNA news agency picked up the story, and included it in the latest editions of its on-line paper: "The Zionist occupation authorities have detained thousands of Palestinians in the last eight months to use them as bargaining chips in future political deals with the Palestinian Authority," reports IRNA. "The vast bulk of the detainees are 'caught' at the Israeli army roadblocks and checkpoints outside Palestinian towns where Palestinian travelers are forced to disembark and then are taken to detention centers throughout the Zionist state."
Who are the detainees? Wanted terrorists or criminals? No, IRNA declares: "The detainees are mostly ordinary people, including students, teachers, businessmen, farmers, and even school children under the age of 16 years. The Palestinian daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida ?quoted a security source as saying that the Israeli roadblocks were actually functioning as 'entrapments for Palestinian civilians.' The source said the purpose of the largely random arrests was to 'keep as many Palestinians as possible in Israeli jails in order to exert pressure on the PA to stop the intifada.' The Zionist regime applies the apartheid system to non-Jews in general and Palestinians in particular whereby individuals can be interned indefinitely without charge or trial."
Who are the detainees? Wanted terrorists or criminals? No, IRNA declares: "The detainees are mostly ordinary people, including students, teachers, businessmen, farmers, and even school children under the age of 16 years. The Palestinian daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida ?quoted a security source as saying that the Israeli roadblocks were actually functioning as 'entrapments for Palestinian civilians.' The source said the purpose of the largely random arrests was to 'keep as many Palestinians as possible in Israeli jails in order to exert pressure on the PA to stop the intifada.' The Zionist regime applies the apartheid system to non-Jews in general and Palestinians in particular whereby individuals can be interned indefinitely without charge or trial."