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Member of Knesset Ayman Odeh's tweet following the release of Doron, Romy and Emily from Hamas' captivity has stirred up a storm. Odeh wrote: "I'm happy about the release of the hostages and prisoners. From this point on we must free both peoples from the yoke of the occupation. We were all born free." The aforementioned tweet caused a commotion to which MK Odeh has responded.
Read Ayman Odeh's text and snap out of the Nationalistic fixation. There are two peoples living here; either they'll get along with each other or they'll murder one another- there's no middle path. Showing empathy could indeed be the first step on the road to recovery. Not empathy with murderers (including Israeli murderers, and by that I am also referring to some of what IDF soldiers have done), but indeed empathy with those who struggle in other ways, namely the Palestinian prisoners released on Sunday.
Odeh: "I realize that many people have been hurt by my tweet. I understand that among those are unfortunately also families of hostages with whom I have been in close touch and whose struggle I have supported through and through. This truly saddens me a great deal. My point of view as a Palestinian citizen of the state of Israel is apparently different from that of many Jewish citizens of Israel. Whereas it appears that most of you tend to see mainly the Jewish suffering, I see and hurt the suffering of both peoples. This simply is the reality, not just mine personally, but of all Arabs living in the state of Israel.
While you were touched watching the young women hostages, innocent of all crime, return to the arms of their mothers, I too was moved. But I also saw the release of 90 prisoners, or more accurately, female prisoners and minors, teenage boys and girls. Those were the prisoners released. The plain truth is that not one of them was charged with murder. Indeed, most of them hadn't been charged with anything! These are youngsters put under administrative detention without even being told what they were accused of. And so even if my words may sound harsh to you, I am a citizen of Israel who sees and hurts the Palestinian suffering too, the suffering of my people living under occupation.
At the same time, I also hurt the other people's suffering, even if under existing circumstances the occupation is being done in their name. As the famous saying goes, 'As long as you can feel pain, you're alive. As long as you can feel the pain of others, you're a human being.' I am a human who feels your pain, as I also live and feel the pain of my people. Do not give in to the wave of incitement and falsification".
