By Abdallah El-Ashaal On 17 April, the world marked Palestinian Prisoner's Day. This event is meant as a reminder that individuals imprisoned during armed conflict must enjoy legal protection. This year, however, the event seems to have acquired new meaning as Israel tried to put its one prisoner, Gilad Shalit, at the top of the international agenda. Shalit's father was invited to speak to the UN Human Rights Council about the plight of his son and family. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons. They have been abducted in various ways and thrown into prison on any number of pretexts. These Palestinian prisoners are being treated with utmost cruelty, and some of them have perished behind prison walls. We have also to keep in mind that the entire Palestinian people, inside and outside Palestine, is living in a big prison. The entire Palestinian people are being humiliated and hunted down, not because of what they have done, but because of what they are. Israel wants to grab all of Palestine. This is why it is chasing people out of their homes, demolishing their houses, destroying their farms, and bullying them in their towns, Gaza being the latest episode in a long story of horror. In 2009, Israel named a former Mossad chief as its man of the year. This is something that apparently escaped the attention of the international community. A man who has been known for his cruelty towards the Palestinians is seen as a role model. This tells you a lot about Israel and its ways. Israel is not just another occupying country. Its aim is to supplant the local population and take their land. This is why it abducts so many Palestinians and throws them in prison. The problem for Palestinian prisoners is not confined to torture or the miscarriage of justice. The problem is that Israel wants to take their country away. Shalit was captured with the aim of exchanging him for the largest possible number of Palestinian prisoners. The international community should focus on stopping Israel's crimes, for it is these crimes that have led to the capture of Shalit. This week's Soapbox speaker is former assistant to the foreign minister
