Norma Hashim

The Palestinian cause was brought one more time to the agenda of global politics after the Gaza 2023 genocide. At the heart of the ongoing genocide was the question of Palestinian prisoners. One of the motives of the October 7, 2023, Hamas’ al-Aqsa Flood Operation was to release Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails by taking Israeli hostages. Palestinian prisoners have played an important role in the Palestinian national movement. This commentary highlights the stories of some of these prisoners and their role in the ongoing genocide in Gaza in addition to analyzing how they are an integral part of the Palestinian national movement. This commentary sheds light on the significant impact Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have on current events by featuring a selection of the author's works, including “The Prisoners’ Diaries: Palestinian Voices from the Israeli Gulag,” “Dreaming of Freedom: Palestinian Child Prisoners Speak,” and “A Shared Struggle: Stories of Palestinian and Irish Hunger Strikers.