RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The cinematic escape of six prisoners who tunneled out of an Israeli penitentiary earlier this month shone a light on Israel’s mass incarceration of Palestinians, one of the many bitter fruits of the conflict. Palestinians and human rights groups say the system is designed to quash opposition and maintain permanent control over millions of Palestinians while denying them basic rights. Of the more than 4,600 Palestinians currently held by Israel in connection with the conflict — known as “security prisoners” — more than 500 are serving life sentences. Qadoura Fares, head of the Prisoners Club, which represents current and former Palestinian prisoners, said they are all “freedom fighters.”“We see them as symbols of the Palestinian people’s struggle,” he said. The Israeli military declined to comment.
