Inside Israeli Prison Walls: A Palestinian Prisoner’s Testimony

Inside Israeli Prison Walls: A Palestinian Prisoner’s Testimony

From This Is Palestine by The Institute for Middle East Understanding

April 30, 2026 · 27 min · Episode 150

About this episode

Former detainee Husam Shaheen shares his testimony of life behind Israeli prison walls, highlighting themes of endurance, resistance, and the impact of imprisonment on identity and memory.

As Palestinian Prisoners’ Day is marked on April 17, this episode turns to life behind Israeli prison walls, where time itself becomes a site of struggle. Former detainee Husam Shaheen shares his testimony of more than two decades in prison, moving from early activism and repeated arrests to a 27-year sentence that became a lived experience of endurance, resistance, and survival. Through his account, we see how imprisonment shapes not only the body but also memory, identity, and time itself. Thank you for tuning into This is Palestine, the official podcast of The IMEU! For more stories and resources, visit us at imeu.org. Stay connected with us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theimeu/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/theIMEU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theIMEU/ For more insights, follow our host, Diana Buttu, on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/dianabuttu

People in this episode

Host: Diana Buttu

Guest: Husam Shaheen

Topics covered

  • prison life
  • Palestinian identity
  • resistance
  • activism
  • endurance
  • memory

Keywords

  • Palestinian prisoners
  • Israeli prison
  • testimony
  • activism
  • resistance
  • identity
  • memory
  • survival

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Institute for Middle East Understanding

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