Israeli Parliament Extends Rules on Holding Palestinian Prisoners
The Israeli Parliament on Wednesday extended for two years emergency regulations that allow the military to hold Palestinian prisoners from the occupied territories inside Israeli territory.
In the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, shops were closed by a general strike called by the Muslim fundamentalist movement Hamas, or Zeal.
The 120-seat Knesset, or Parliament, extended the emergency regulations for two years at the request of the government. The vote was 29 to 9. The regulations make Israeli law applicable to Israelis in the territories but not to Palestinians, who are judged in military courts.
“This means there are different laws for Jews and Arabs. This bill perpetuates discrimination,” Amnon Rubinstein of the liberal Shinui Party said during the Knesset’s brief debate on the issue.
The army has jailed more than 40,000 Palestinians during the uprising. The army is still holding 9,000 of those prisoners.
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