Palestinian Prisoners in Israel - Political and Social Activism

Political and Social Activism

According to Yezid Sayigh, an "inadvertent consequence" of Israel's internal security measures was to contribute to the social mobilization of Palestinian society. Due to the large number of students and youth in prison from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, the prison population "tended to be young, educated, and familiar with the tactics of civil disobediance and unarmed protest." In prison, they were exposed to political indoctrination and instruction in security and organization from veteran guerillas. Prisoners organized themselves according to political affiliation and initiated educational programs, making the prisons "unsurpassed 'cadre schools'". Upon their release, they became leaders of students movements in Palestinian universities and colleges. An Israeli investigation among Palestinian prisoners in the early stages of the First Intifada found that their political mobilization was not so much ideologically based, as it was a function of repeated humiliations at the hands of Israeli forces.