From behind bars Palestinian detainee Bassem Khandakji wins the Arab Booker Prize

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Booker) announced the victory of the novel “A Mask in the Color of the Sky” by the imprisoned Palestinian writer Bassem Khandakji, in the 17th session of the award, in 2024. The Prisoner’s Club said that Khandakji won the award after being subjected to a widespread campaign of incitement from the Israeli media.

The novel “A Mask the Color of the Sky” by the imprisoned Palestinian writer Bassem Khandakji won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Booker) on Sunday evening in the 17th session of the award, in 2024.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said in a statement that the detainee Khandakji won the award after he was subjected to a massive campaign of incitement from the Israeli media, after his novel was nominated for the short list of the Booker Prize for Arabic Fiction a few months ago.

The statement added that the war on the Palestinian narrative constituted a consistent approach for the Israeli occupation in confronting the Palestinian presence, pointing out that the creativity of detainees is a constant target of the occupation forces, by confiscating and prosecuting them, and imposing sanctions against detainees who left a clear imprint and impact on the level of cognitive and literary production.

Khandakji was one of the most prominent detainees who contributed to knowledge and literary production, and he published several novels and different productions during the years of his detention, according to the Prisoner’s Club.

The jury chose the winning novel from among 133 novels nominated for the award for the 2024 session, as the best novel published between July 2022 and June 2023. The novel’s publisher, Rana Idris, owner of Dar Al Adab, received the award on behalf of the writer Khandakji, who is detained in the occupation prisons. Israeli.

Khandakji (40 years old), from Nablus, was arrested on November 2, 2004. Following his arrest, he was subjected to a long, harsh interrogation. The occupation later sentenced him to life imprisonment three times. Before his arrest, he was a student at An-Najah National University, majoring in journalism and media. He was issued a prison sentence while in prison. Captivity published two poetry collections, 250 articles, and several literary novels, including “Narcissus of Solitude” and “The Eclipse of Badr al-Din,” in addition to his latest novel, “A Mask in the Color of the Sky.” Some of his works have been translated into French.