Mainstream Media 'Discovers' Palestinian Hostages Exist, Finally
A global campaign launched in London, '365' for Palestinian detainees, calls attention to the thousands held in Israeli prisons—many without charge under administrative detention. This 'new' focus conveniently sidesteps decades of human rights reports detailing widespread arbitrary arrests, torture, and detention of children. For context, 4,900 Palestinians were held by Israel BEFORE October 7th,
a number that has since surged past 9,000, according to human rights organizations like Addameer. The mainstream media, however, largely reserves the term 'hostage' for specific (Israeli) individuals, despite consistently downplaying the systematic, decades-long imprisonment of Palestinians. One might wonder where this global concern was when UN bodies and Amnesty International repeatedly
documented these 'hostages' for years. Is it merely a coincidence that a spotlight appears only when the counter-narrative becomes too loud to ignore? Or perhaps, the definition of a 'hostage' simply expands when it serves a particular geopolitical agenda.