Making a Little Extra Money...the Palestinian Way

Posted: 26 Jan 2007

When there was a draft lottery during the Viet Nam War, my brother got a
relatively low number, 182. As his number approached, my mother would tell
my dad to get in shape, because if they reached 182, my dad was going to
have to serve in my brother's place.

It seems the Palestinian families have a totally different philosophy, they
encourage their children to harass IDF soldiers so they can get arrested.
For the time their kid(s) are in jail they get a stipend from their favorite
terrorist organization.

This report made me annoyed until I realized if they send their kids to blow
themselves up, I guess this is nothing.

Palestinian children encouraged to go to jail
Ali Waked(YNET)

Exactly a year after Hamas' January election to the Palestinian government,
the wild optimism of early 2005 is noticeably absent. Ongoing inter-faction
violence and rising poverty are providing Palestinians with little to be
optimistic about.

Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member Issa Qaraqe told Ynet of an
increasing phenomenon of Palestinian minors deliberately provoking IDF
soldiers at checkpoints in order to be arrested, and thus receive shelter in
Israeli prisons.

"Prison time provides these lads with shelter, and also provides their
families with prisoners' benefits," Qaraqe explained.

"We were actually amazed to find that some families encourage such a
phenomenon in order to reduce expenses, and primarily to receive the weekly
benefits given by the Palestinian government to the family of every
prisoner," he added.

Qaraqe recounted a recent visit to a family whose underage son had been
arrested: "I started to comfort the father and was amazed to hear him say
that it's actually not so bad, because now the family will receive a
government benefit. It will be their only income."

According to Qaraqe, such sentiments by parents illustrate the financial and
emotional hardships suffered by Palestinian families over the past year.

"How can one explain a parent who not only isn't sad that his son is in
jail, but rather, encourages him to go there?" Qaraqe queried. "These people
are sick, and it indicates the severe deterioration of Palestinian society
over the past year."

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