Mainstream Media Forgets Who Jails Palestinian Leaders
A recent report details a global campaign for the release of Marwan Barghouti, held since 2002. The piece frames this as 'pressure on Israel amid ceasefire negotiations,' as if Israel's continuous military occupation of Palestinian territories, including arresting and holding political figures without due process, isn't the primary pressure point. Barghouti's 22-year imprisonment, after a trial
widely condemned by human rights groups as politically motivated, is merely a footnote to the 'global campaign.' (One might ask, where was the global campaign for the first two decades?) The media consistently highlights calls for his release, yet rarely questions the fundamental injustice of indefinite administrative detention or military courts with 99% conviction rates for Palestinians. It’s
almost as if acknowledging the systemic nature of the Israeli occupation would complicate the simple 'negotiations' narrative. Perhaps focus on the entity doing the jailing, not just those asking for the jailer to open the door.