People can be stuck in the Ofer Military Base prison for some time. This time, Abdullah Abu Rhame had only been in there for a couple of weeks. Weeks of interrogation, sleepless nights and being kept from his family, but just weeks… so far.

He’d been tossed in there after being arrested with some foreign and Israeli peace activists for standing on village land with some signs. When soldiers see that a demonstration is starting, they declare the area to be a closed military area. Then they arrest people for being in a closed military area.

It’s incredibly convenient, because it only becomes one after they are already there. A lot of the time a soldier will throw in an assault charge to boot. This happened to Abdullah and the others. Extensive video recordings of the incident led to charges being immediately dropped against the Israelis and foreign demonstrators. Apparently they weren’t enough for Abdullah. He might be out tomorrow and he might not. But the Israelis and foreigners he was arrested with stood outside Ofer along with some people from his village.

Ofer’s prison is an outside affair, roughly like a a set from Hogan’s Heroes minus, obviously, the laugh track. At least from what you can see this side of the fence and barbed wire. and the soldiers there don’t want you to see much. As the cameras — still and video — began shooting, they stormed up and demanded to make sure each was erased. Obviously, as you can see, that worked like a charm.

Any Palestinian arrested at a demonstration is treated as a security threat no matter the offense. they are handed over to a military system and decisions can be made in secret. Israelis, foreigners like me, it’s not nearly so rough. Abdullah can be held for years. He can be arrested without hearing the charges. He can be denied all sorts of representation. You and me, we get questioned for a while, you get to talk with lawyers and embassy people, you get out.

I’m interested in what makes people like Abdullah appear to be such a threat to the occupation.

A guy who walks with signs, banners and chants has the bruises and arrest record you might think would be relegated to hardened criminals. If the reaction you elicit is telling of your effectiveness, then Abdullah is on to something worth exploring. These protests don’t come from the Palestinian Authority or any sort of recognized authority figure. They come from people in towns who are tied of being bullied.

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