This is insane. Just mind boggling. It's always interesting to contrast different countries prison systems. I thought Venizueala had a wierd one. I'm going to remember to bring this up next time I have a discussion about foreign aid.

on the other, other hand... just think what an interesting time the Mossad has with the info they glean from those smart phones? Still, as long as they treat everyone the smae in prison, they are living up to their own standard, regardless if the jihadis care about it. The bit about us paying for it is interesting tho... but how would they be trated different in guantanamo, minus the smartphones, natch.

What is this "prison" that you speak of, and more importantly, how does one become a "guest"?

I've met a few Palestinian men who were in Israeli prisons. The use of torture is frequent. One man I met spent a few months chained to a wall in a position neither standing nor sitting. He was beaten regularly. He was also made to listen as a woman in the next room screamed hysterically, he was told it was his wife (it turned out not to be).

Perhaps its different for higher-profile prisoners, the man I met was just a nobody who came from a village where someone had thrown a rock at a soldier. All the men in the village were then imprisoned.

Perhaps there are some Israeli prisons that are lovely country clubs. But it certainly isn't one of them.

Amy, you're a great writer, you're intelligent, you're awesome but seriously. GO TO PALESTINE. Just go. Spend some time with some humanitarian orgs, ask them to show you around. Then come back.

This whole myth of "The Israelis are saints who treat the Palestinians wonderfully and the evil Palestinians just hate them for no reason" is very silly. (As is, for that matter, the less-heard myth of "Palestinians are innocent victims who would live in perfect peace if not for the evil Israelis")

NicoleK only an idiot would belive that isrealis never do anything to harm the Palistinians, however it was not isreal who started the conflict and they have every right to use any means neccesary to protect themselves.

If only there were some way the Israelis could use the smartphones for intelligence purposes...but nahhh, there's no way they could be that devious.

Speedy

@NicoleK -

I met some Israeli citizens in the US on vacation. They told me stories of how the Palestinians would recruit mentally handicapped children for use as suicide bombers against Israeli and Arab women and children. They told me how the Palestinians would take children hostage to force their mothers to act as suicide bombers against civilian Israeli targets. They told me stories about how the Palestinians would capture Israeli soldiers and torture them to death, hacking off limbs, burning them and castrating them while still alive.

And guess what? Unlike your stories, mine are true.