PA PM falsely claims Israeli leaders call to murder Palestinian prisoners
Headline: “The government: The unity of the prisoners calls to us to complete the reconciliation [between Fatah and Hamas] and thwart the occupation’s plans”
“[PA] Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah emphasized during the weekly government meeting held in Ramallah under his leadership… that the fact that Israel continues to hold thousands of prisoners, in addition to the racist incitement campaign and the criminal, racist, direct, and explicit calls of the occupation leaders to kill the prisoners (PMW has found no such calls, see below for more details –Ed.) necessitate the urgent intervention of the international community…
He added that their (the prisoners’) cause is the cause of all of us, and that this is a national and personal cause that touches every Palestinian home…
He emphasized that we will not forget our prisoners and will not forget our land, and that the time has come to establish their status as prisoners of war in a way that will allow us to work with international institutions in order to enlist more support for their release. He also noted that the title of the [current] stage is the need to release all of the prisoners without exception and without discrimination. Hamdallah added that the loyalty to the prisoners also requires us to act to unite the homeland and provide a fitting life for their families, and that instead of the blackmail, pressures, and incitement that Israel is using to force us to stop supporting the prisoners and Martyrs’ families, it must stop the organized state terror that it is using.”
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PMW could find no calls by Israeli ministers to kill prisoners. The Palestinians have referred to statements by Israeli Minister of Intelligence and Transportation Yisrael Katz and Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman as such, however in both cases that was not what they actually said.
On March 6 and 7, 2017, Katz said that terrorist Marwan Barghouti should have been sentenced to the death penalty rather than life imprisonment.
In 2015, when serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Liberman said regarding a prisoner hunger strike at the time that those wishing to hunger strike should be allowed to do so, and that their lives are their responsibility. He referred to Irish hunger strikers in Britain in 1981 who starved themselves to death when then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused to give in to their demands, saying: "What's good for the birthplace of democracy, England, is good enough for us."
“[PA] Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah emphasized during the weekly government meeting held in Ramallah under his leadership… that the fact that Israel continues to hold thousands of prisoners, in addition to the racist incitement campaign and the criminal, racist, direct, and explicit calls of the occupation leaders to kill the prisoners (PMW has found no such calls, see below for more details –Ed.) necessitate the urgent intervention of the international community…
He added that their (the prisoners’) cause is the cause of all of us, and that this is a national and personal cause that touches every Palestinian home…
He emphasized that we will not forget our prisoners and will not forget our land, and that the time has come to establish their status as prisoners of war in a way that will allow us to work with international institutions in order to enlist more support for their release. He also noted that the title of the [current] stage is the need to release all of the prisoners without exception and without discrimination. Hamdallah added that the loyalty to the prisoners also requires us to act to unite the homeland and provide a fitting life for their families, and that instead of the blackmail, pressures, and incitement that Israel is using to force us to stop supporting the prisoners and Martyrs’ families, it must stop the organized state terror that it is using.”
Click to view bulletin
PMW could find no calls by Israeli ministers to kill prisoners. The Palestinians have referred to statements by Israeli Minister of Intelligence and Transportation Yisrael Katz and Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman as such, however in both cases that was not what they actually said.
On March 6 and 7, 2017, Katz said that terrorist Marwan Barghouti should have been sentenced to the death penalty rather than life imprisonment.
In 2015, when serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Liberman said regarding a prisoner hunger strike at the time that those wishing to hunger strike should be allowed to do so, and that their lives are their responsibility. He referred to Irish hunger strikers in Britain in 1981 who starved themselves to death when then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused to give in to their demands, saying: "What's good for the birthplace of democracy, England, is good enough for us."
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