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<h1><font size=4><b>Political prisoner: Hamas deal a "great step
forward"</b></font></h1><font size=3>
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/people/ameer-makhoul">Ameer
Makhoul</a><br>
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/content/political-prisoner-hamas-deal-great-step-forward/10552#.TrQsKLLZdBk" eudora="autourl">
http://electronicintifada.net/content/political-prisoner-hamas-deal-great-step-forward/10552#.TrQsKLLZdBk</a>
<br><br>
2 November 2011 <br><br>
The <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/prisoner-swap">prisoner
exchange deal</a> was a major achievement for
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/hamas">Hamas</a> and a great
step forward for the Palestinian people, particularly the prisoners’
movement.<br><br>
Hamas earned respect and credibility for its management of a very complex
issue. In particular, the entire operation was played out on Palestinian
land and largely handled in Palestine for five years under complicated
and dangerous circumstances.<br><br>
The deal brought joy to the lives of
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/political-prisoners">
prisoners</a>, their families and all Palestinians living in Palestine
and abroad. It was a joy combined with honor, dignity and the promising
spirit of victory.<br><br>
Veteran prisoners who were not included in the deal have endured, along
with their families, untold pain and suffering. The released prisoners
and all the Palestinian people sympathize with them and understand these
feelings.<br><br>
It is important to highlight, however, that the continued suffering of
the remaining prisoners is not caused by the prisoner exchange deal, but
rather in spite of it. It is caused by a lack of a Palestinian vision for
liberation that is tangible and ripe for the moment.<br><br>
<b>No deal without its limitations<br><br>
</b>The idea that postponing the prisoner swap could have improved the
terms of the deal is simply not true. On the contrary, postponing could
have jeopardized the agreement entirely. Such deals are done when the
timing is right. They cannot be rushed, postponed, or determined
beforehand.<br><br>
The prisoner swap deal, or any deal of that sort, is not without its
limits. One should not expect from a deal to liberate all 6,000 prisoners
languishing in Israeli jails. We should evaluate Hamas’ success or
failure based on the following question: did the movement exhaust all its
capabilities before signing off on the deal? The answer is a definite
yes.<br><br>
The deal, as it was achieved, is the outcome of certain power dynamics,
and approving it was a legitimate and appropriate action. In the history
of all struggles and liberation movements, even among the victorious,
there are losses and victims. That does not make the victory any less
significant.<br><br>
Hamas leader
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/ismail-haniyeh">Ismail
Haniyeh</a> emphasized an important point in his liberation speech in
Gaza.<br><br>
“The borders of historic Palestine Gaza, the West Bank, and the 1948
areas are the borders of the prisoner exchange deal.<br><br>
“With resistance we liberated Gaza. We liberated the land and the
people,” he said.<br><br>
Indeed, as Haniyeh claimed, resistance achieved what no other track, such
as negotiations, was able to achieve or even come close to
achieving.<br><br>
<b>Failure of West Bank “leadership”<br><br>
</b>In addition to liberating the prisoners and their families from the
burden and suffering of imprisonment, the exchange represents another
important development. The swap exposed a
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/palestinian-authority">
Palestinian leadership in the West Bank</a> that does not hold much
promise, as it has no real vision or project for liberating the rest of
the political prisoners.<br><br>
It is no secret that this leadership is under the illusion that progress
is possible without resistance, that it will come about as a gesture of
good faith on the part of Israel. The history of the struggle with
Israel, however, has taught us that the Zionist state will not hesitate
to commit any crime against the Palestinians, unless it is unable to do
so or pay the price. The prisoners will not be liberated by laws, courts,
mercy, or futile negotiations.<br><br>
The prisoner exchange deal has created a new margin of freedom for
Palestinians and an atmosphere of national reconciliation. It has also
rehabilitated a supporting Arab role that had been suppressed by peace
agreements from Camp David to
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/oslo-accords">Oslo</a> to the
so-called Arab Peace Initiative.<br><br>
It has restored the value of resistance and the prospects of liberation,
reaffirming that what was taken by force can only be restored by force;
what was taken by occupation can only be restored by liberation; and what
was taken by dispossession can only be restored by return.<br><br>
<b>Inclusion of 1948 prisoners<br><br>
</b>Hamas’ insistence on including in the prisoner swap deal for
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/palestinians-israel">
Palestinians living in the 1948 lands</a> is a strategic accomplishment.
It is not the first deal, historically speaking, to include prisoners
from that part of historic Palestine. It is, however, the first deal
since the <a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/oslo-accords">Oslo
accords</a> to do so, setting a precedent for the future.<br><br>
The deal also revealed the multi-strategic role that the new
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/egypt">Egypt</a> can play in
liberating prisoners and restoring Palestinian rights, if the political
will is there.<br><br>
Hamas was able to take advantage of Israeli public opinion, which
pressured the Israeli government for the return of the imprisoned Israeli
soldier, Gilad Shalit. It withstood Israel’s repressive escalation
against it, against the prisoners movement and against Gaza.<br><br>
After the deal, the people expect any action by the Palestinian
leadership on the prisoners issue to be connected to the question of
their release. The goal is to liberate the prisoners and not merely to
improve the conditions of their imprisonment.<br><br>
It is no longer acceptable to postpone the issue of prisoners or give
priority to other issues, as is the case with the Palestinian Authority’s
pointless negotiations, conditioned as they are on freezing settlement
expansion. The framework around the issue of political prisoners, namely
that there will be no final peace agreement without the release of all
prisoners, is practically a deferment strategy. But Palestinians do not
want this issue deferred as this is an opportunity hastened by the
prisoner swap deal.<br><br>
Israel is taking precautions to prevent the capture of its soldiers and
to create a deterrent policy that includes liquidating Palestinian
leaders, tightening their grip on prisoners and using intelligence and
technological assets. These methods, however, have been tried, and the
Palestinian people have remained undeterred.<br><br>
Nevertheless, one should not underestimate Israeli plans, and there is a
need to fashion a Palestinian strategy to minimize the price paid in
struggle while maximizing the benefits. This requires Palestinian
preparedness. There is also pressing need for a supportive Arab
contingent and for investment in
<a href="http://electronicintifada.net/tags/turkey">Turkey’s</a> role.
Since both Egypt and Turkey desire regional power status, they can help
foster, along with popular Palestinian, Arab and international solidarity
movements, a safety zone that could deter Israel, liberate political
prisoners and restore Palestinian rights.<br><br>
<i>Ameer Makhoul is a Palestinian civil society leader and political
prisoner at Gilboa Prison. <br><br>
This article is co-published by Beirut-based
<a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/">al-Akhbar</a> and translated from
Arabic.<br><br>
<br><br>
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