Legal society outraged at Pope's meeting with Shalit's family

[ 12/05/2009 - 09:10 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- The Wa'ed society for prisoners and ex-prisoners expressed utmost indignation over Pope Benedict XVI's meeting with the family of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit while ignoring the plight of more than 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails. The society in a statement on Monday said that the Pope declared that he would meet the family of Shalit in a show of solidarity with this family. However, the Pope did not care about the suffering of 11,000 Palestinian prisoners including children and women, it elaborated. "We express our surprise at such an act, which does not reflect any ethical values," the society said, asserting that the issue of Palestinian prisoners would not be solved through diplomatic channels but rather through capturing more Israeli soldiers in light of the "world's disregard of our prisoners' right to freedom". Relatives of those prisoners in the Gaza Strip staged a sit-in on Monday to protest the Pope's concern with Shalit while ignoring their next of kin who are held in Israeli occupation jails under harsh incarceration conditions.