I have written an article today on the Huffington Post discussing why the prisoner exchange matters and repeating the call for the release of the 164 Palestinian children detained by Israel.
On the prisoner exchange…
If it is important for people like me to understand the significance of one Israeli soldier’s captivity to Israeli families, so too is it important for Israel’s friends abroad to understand the personal significance of Palestinian prisoners for Palestinian families across the Occupied Territories.
On Palestinian child prisoners…
There are 164 Palestinian children currently held by Israel – most of them accused of crimes such as throwing stones. Not one of them has yet been released by Israel as part of the Shalit deal.
If the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child means anything to Israel, it must change its treatment of Palestinian child prisoners. It should make a start by agreeing to the call by UNICEF and others to release the 164 children it holds in its prisons today.
