In the Hamas/Israel war, why does Palestine have "hostages" but Israel has "prisoners"?
This occurred to me while listening to the news. When they exchange people it’s always hostages for people held in Palestine and prisoners for people held in Israel. Why is that? Is it just perception or is there a practical difference?
There are two possible definitions. One is the judicial one many have brought up already:
Hamas just kidnapped random people
Israel took prisoners and charged them with criminal offenses
Another is the geopolitical one:
Israel is a state, so it takes official prisoners. Even if those.were wrongly convicted or innocent people,.they'd still be prisoners of war
Hamas is not a state, it's a gaggle of shitheads. Shitheads can't take prisoners as they have no jurisdiction. So their captives are hostages.
The last one would be the motive:
Hamas holds those people with the motive to trade them off to Israel for some gain or otherwise use them as bargaining chip. Israel has taken those people with the opposite goal: Imprison them/punish them for their crimes
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