Friday, January 26, 2007

Makes you wonder if the Palestinians can afford Peace

I wouldn't be surprised if the average Palestinian "moderate" is now thinking terror pays.Ynet News:
As if the violence were not enough, the Palestinian Authority has also recently logged an increased number of homeless children. For this problem, however, some Palestinian families seem to have found a unique, if tragic, solution.

Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member Issa Qaraqe told Ynet of an increasing phenomenon of Palestinian minors deliberately provoking IDF soldiers at checkpoints in order to be arrested, and thus receive shelter in Israeli prisons. "Prison time provides these lads with shelter, and also provides their families with prisoners' benefits," Qaraqe explained.

"We were actually amazed to find that some families encourage such a phenomenon in order to reduce expenses, and primarily to receive the weekly benefits given by the Palestinian government to the family of every prisoner," he added. Qaraqe recounted a recent visit to a family whose underage son had been arrested: "I started to comfort the father and was amazed to hear him say that it's actually not so bad, because now the family will receive a government benefit. It will be their only income."

According to Qaraqe, such sentiments by parents illustrate the financial and emotional hardships suffered by Palestinian families over the past year. "How can one explain a parent who not only isn't sad that his son is in jail, but rather, encourages him to go there?" Qaraqe queried. "These people are sick, and it indicates the severe deterioration of Palestinian society over the past year."
This certainly isn’t a new cultural phenomenon among the Palestinians. I am reminded of the various olive tree fiascos whereby Palestinians started to cut down their own trees to receive compensation from the Israeli government for alleged settler violence to their livelihood.

4 comments:

Michael said...

The palestinians blew their chance at "affording" peace over a year ago... When Israel pulled out of Gaza, a tremendous agricultural infrastructure (the greenhouses) was left intact, on purpose, to give the palestinians a chance to start building an economy.

In their zeal to destroy all Jewish remnants in the PA, they looted and destroyed the greenhouses.

For the palestinians, this is not about building a state; it is about destroying one. And destruction is all they have left.

Josh said...

That's why, as cruel as may seem - but of course prison isn't supposed to be a punishment, I have always loved the way that India dealt with this problem India realized early on that many people would commit petty crimes to go to jail and eat rather than starve on the streets. So, if you go to prison, your family has to bring you food each day, the prison will not feed you.

I do not know all the details, but that is the jist of it.

K. Shoshana said...

Jamaica has a very similar system, except that Jamaica will feed you (though not well) if your family does not provide food or money. And if you have no money to reimburse the state for the provided meals -extra jail time will be added to your original sentence.

Michael said...

So, if you go to prison, your family has to bring you food each day

The problem with that is, it will involve allowing more of these terrorists into Israel.

India and Jamaica don't have that problem.