Threat

Palestinians held on security-related charges are quickly cast in Israel as a danger to the state, often imagined as would-be or actual suicide bombers. That picture overlooks the political motives behind their actions and the longing for freedom that drives many of them.

Abeer Baker and Anat Matar trace how Palestinian prisoners have been portrayed across the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The volume gathers essays by current and former prisoners, human rights advocates, lawyers and academic researchers, who examine imprisonment as a political phenomenon and the attitudes Israelis hold toward those behind bars.

The contributors address the prisoners' standing within Palestinian society, the conditions of their confinement, and the procedures Israel's military courts use to label them criminals and strip away their political identity. Other topics include Israel's violations of international treaties in its treatment of prisoners, the use of torture and solitary confinement, prisoner exchange deals, and the prospects for release. Positioned within Middle East studies, the book is meant to inform those working in human rights, international law and the peace process.