Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Gilad Shalit, beloved brother and son, what is the story of over a thousand Palestinian prisoners



The Islamist Palestinian organisation Hamas on Tuesday liberated the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was abducted five years ago. In return Israel is releasing 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. Despite whatever Islamic sentiment I have it is hard to ignore Israel emergence as the moral victor from the exchange. Yesterday in the media all you could see is the story of a man who is much like everyone of us, with dreams, family and loved ones who was locked up by a group. The other side of the story is the release of prisoners grants the terrorist organization Hamas too prominent a role. The media story was preoccupied with what the release means for the people of Palestine. I did not see a single story that was similar to Gilad Shalit, the story of an individual suffering in the hands of brutes and kept away from the loved ones.  Palestinians were being carried awy on shoulders, chanting Allahuakbar. I could not connect with them, they were impersonal and full of anger. i thought why is no one telling the story of Palestinian prisoners. Are they really a bunch of whackos who needed to be locked up, which again gives Israil another moral triumph. The validity of the claim that the Islamists are not people that seek reasonable methods to resolve their grievances but a fanatic group that belongs to a cult of death and terror.