Reuters reports an unlikely phenomenon of Palestinian teenagers actively trying to get themselves jailed in Israel. Here’s why:
The youths, mostly teenage boys, are taking the dangerous measure in part because they say it is easier to study for exams in an Israeli prison than it is at home in the West Bank. Some also want to escape family hardship and deepening poverty.
Since January, when the phenomenon was first identified, Israeli army officials say at least 80 young men have either turned up at checkpoints and asked to be arrested or else carried knives and other weapons to ensure they are detained….
Palestinian civil affairs workers say the number may be far higher than 80 and is on the increase as rumours spread among young men about the potential benefits of being imprisoned….
Because prisoners usually receive a stipend of around 1,200 shekels ($250) a month, paid by the Palestinian Authority even if detainees are in Israeli prisons, Abdul-Rahman hoped to emerge with a substantial sum of cash to start his own business.
Since the Hamas movement came to power, stipend payments have been frozen, but that wasn’t about to stop Abdul-Rahman.
If the Palestinians don’t believe prisoners are languishing, why should the media?
(Hat tip: Judith Apter Klinghoffer)
