Hostage, prisoner or detainee? In the latest Israel-Hamas exchange, it’s not always clear [Video]

When Palestinian activist Bushra Al-Tahil was released from an Israeli prison in exchange for hostages held by Hamas earlier this week, many media reports referred to her as a prisoner — or worse, a terrorist.

This was despite the fact that no Israeli court had convicted her of a crime, nor charged her, nor presented her with any evidence about why she was incarcerated for more than 10 months.

Nonetheless, in the eyes of the world, Al-Tahil says she was made to look guilty.

“They are only trying to make us criminals,” she told CBC News in an interview in her mother’s living room in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, a few days after her release. 

Palestinian detainees and their advocates say the broad characterization of Palestinians as prisoners is part of a deliberate strategy.

“The [Israeli hostages] that are in Gaza are considered ‘kidnapped,’ because criminals kidnapped them,” Al-Tahil said. But because …