Released prisoner: "We'd chat, talk, eat, drink, joke and play"

Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik | Dec 4, 2013

Released prisoner:

"[In prison] we'd chat, talk, eat, drink, joke and play throughout the day"

Released murderer:

"We don't regret what we did"

Prisoners' relatives:

Security checks for visitors of prisoners in Israeli prisons are fine

Israel recently released 52 of 104 imprisoned terrorists to accommodate the Palestinian Authority's precondition to return to negotiations. Palestinian Media Watch documented that the terrorists, who were all murderers, were received by the PA leadership as heroes. As part of its ongoing glorification of the terrorists, PA TV interviewed Asrar Samrin who was serving a life sentence for the murder of Israeli Tzvi Klein (Dec. 3, 1991). The murderer explained that "the first question all Israeli media ask every released prisoner is: 'Do you regret what you did or not?'" His answer was:

"Through the great PA TV, I say to the Israelis: There is no Palestinian who did something for the homeland and his nation who will regret it. We don't regret what we did and we will not regret what we did."

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In another PA TV interview earlier this year, a prisoner who was released after having served 10 years explained how prisoners spend their time. In a striking statement that contradicts the Palestinian Authority libel about cruel conditions in Israeli jails, the prisoner explained that the "worst thing about Israeli prison" is when prisoners are transported on the prison bus and have to sit for a long time on a metal chair:

"The worst thing about Israeli prison is the torturous ride... when a man is driven to court or to the hospital or on any ride outside the prison... We prisoners call this 'ride of torment'... This is beyond imagination... It it's hard to convey the suffering. The prisoners sit on a metal chair, made entirely of metal, there's nothing but metal inside it."

He then described a typical prisoners' day, during which prisoners spend their time "chatting, talking, eating, drinking, joking and playing." This description also stands in sharp contrast to the oft-repeated libel by senior PA leaders that Israel mistreats prisoners:

"In the morning we'd exercise from 7:00 until 8:00... Then the guys would get together in the prison yard and we'd chat, talk, eat, drink, joke and play, etc., throughout the day... Noon roll-call is from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Roll-call time is time for resting in the rooms... Nap time, reading time, study time... At 1:30 or 12:30 p.m. they'd take us out to the yard again. We'd spend [time] with the guys walking, laughing, playing, joking, etc., until dark."

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Similarly, PMW reported in 2010 on another former prisoner who stated that the Palestinian prisoners "lack nothing" in Israeli prisons.

Recently, PA TV interviewed some relatives about the conditions when visiting prisoners. The PA TV host claimed that "the harassment of prisoners' families are well known," but the brother of a murderer essentially described a security check similar to what most passengers experience in airports:

"The methods of inspection, the prison management's behavior towards us. Of course all these things are hard... The visit was exhausting when we went through the [security] check. They would even pass our shoes through a machine."

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These interviews with Palestinians contradict various ongoing PA libels. One prisoner described the conditions of Palestinian prisoners as "joke and play, etc., throughout the day" and the visitors described undergoing typical necessary security checks. In addition, confirming what many have argued, the released Palestinian murderers do not feel remorse or regret for their crimes.

See more examples of the PA's glorification of the released murderers.

The following are longer excerpts of the reports on official PA TV:

Released murderer Asrar Samrin: "The first question all Israeli media ask every released prisoner is: 'Do you regret what you did or not?' This is the question they always ask. Through the great PA TV, I say to the Israelis: There is no Palestinian who did something for the homeland and his nation who will regret it. We don't regret what we did and we will not regret what we did."
PA TV host: "Palestine deserves sacrifice."
Asrar Samrin: "Palestine deserves sacrifice."

[Official PA TV, Oct. 30, 2013]

Note: Asrar Samrin - Serving a life sentence for the murder of Israeli citizen Tzvi Klein (Dec. 3, 1991). He was released in October 2013 as one of 104 terrorists Israel agreed to release, which was the PA's precondition for renewing negotiations.

Released prisoner Muhammad Hilal: "The worst thing about Israeli prison is the torturous ride inside 'the Posta' (i.e., transport vehicle)... when a man is driven to court or to the hospital or on any ride outside the prison... We prisoners call this 'ride of torment,' not 'the Posta' and not 'the ride.' This is beyond imagination. No matter how much I talk about it it's hard to convey the suffering. The prisoners sit on a metal chair, made entirely of metal, there's nothing but metal inside it... "
PA TV host: "Describe a day in your life in prison. You served 10 years."
Released prisoner Muhammad Hilal: "In the morning we'd exercise from 7:00 until 8:00... Then the guys would get together in the prison yard and we'd chat, talk, eat, drink, joke and play, etc., throughout the day. At noon the guys would go to their rooms for roll-call. Noon roll-call is from 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Roll-call time is time for resting in the rooms. Each group has a routine inside the rooms: Nap time, reading time, study time. Some sleep, some read. At 1:30 or 12:30 p.m. they'd take us out to the yard again. We'd spend [time] with the guys walking, laughing, playing, joking, etc., until dark. Then back to the rooms. They'd lock us up until 6:00 a.m., roll-call time."

[Official PA TV, May 4, 2013]

PA TV reporter: "Let's talk about the [prison] visits - how you suffered... the difficulties you encountered during this long period of contacting [your brother] Osama. The permits and harassments to prisoners' families are well known when they want to visit [relatives in prison]. What happened to you?"
Brother of released murderer Osama Abu Hananeh: "Of course, visiting was very difficult... The methods of inspection, the prison management's behavior towards us. Of course all these things are hard. The visit was exhausting when we went through the [security] check. They would even pass our shoes through a machine."
PA TV reporter: "What difficulties did you encounter when you went to visit your sons? Were there any transportation problems in reaching the prisons?"
Mother of released murderer Ahmad Abd Al-Aziz Qadura: "No, by Allah, nothing. Thank Allah, we would visit them and go home."

[Official PA TV, Oct. 30, 2013]

Note: The guests on the show are relatives of Osama Abu Hananeh and Ahmad Abd Al-Aziz Qadura. Hananeh, Qadura and two others murdered Motti Biton and wounded his wife Molly near Jenin in October 1992. They were serving life time in prison, but were released in October 2013 as part of 104 terrorists Israel agreed to release, which was the PA's precondition for renewing negotiations.

Released prisoner: "We'd chat, talk, eat, drink, joke and play"

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