With Al-Qeeq and others, the prisoner issue has entered a new phase

He could’ve been added to the long list of thousands of prisoners in Israeli prisons, but Palestinian journalist Muhammad Al-Qeeq took the very risky decision to engage in a battle of wills with his jailers by going on hunger strike. He fought this battle for three months and won. In doing so, Al-Qeeq has helped to give Palestinian prisoners an identity, rather than existing as a number.

This was not easy to achieve. It is the result of major sacrifices made by a number of prisoners themselves and the fruit of their growing firmness in negotiations with the prison authorities. It was accompanied by qualitative developments in the media and popular interaction with the prisoner issue beyond the prison walls.

Before the names behind the human experience in Israel’s prisons emerged from behind the statistics, the Israeli media blackout meant that the prisoner issue was limited to being a routine item on occasional news bulletins. The facts of the raids, arrests and trials of Palestinian prisoners were all so similar that the importance and significance of each one in news terms was lost. Routine kills issues in newsrooms and erases otherwise interesting details that may have a lasting or shocking impact.

However, when a prisoner decides to engage in a battle of perseverance and wills, they reject the routine and create an incident. This almost inevitably attracts widespread interaction with the outside world. When Al-Qeeq decided to go on hunger strike, he prompted many and varied interactions on all levels around the globe.

Today’s mass media, especially social networks, bring people closer to the action and give them the tools to share opinions and views with millions of others. The Palestinian prisoner issue has benefitted from this on, for example, Facebook and Twitter. Ordinary people are able to keep up with events and contribute to the dissemination of the details.

A year before Al-Qeeq’s hunger strike, a widespread solidarity campaign led to the release of young Malak Al-Khatib two months after she was imprisoned by the Israelis. At that time, her case exposed the shortcomings that were prevalent in Israel’s arrest and imprisonment of Palestinian children. In the past, children did not have any means to raise their case with a wider audience. Malak’s case in particular revealed that putting a specific story at the heart of the popular conscience did not require the prisoner to go on hunger strike. Activists can be stirred into action when there is the will to do so.

Nevertheless, it has tended to be the hunger strikes which have made a difference and contributed to the maturity and development of a new culture of interaction with the prisoner issue. People within and beyond Palestine have come to know the names and faces of many who have gained iconic status through their protests. Hana Shalabi, for example, represented the strong will of female prisoners with her famous hunger strike in 2012. When footballer Mahmoud Sarsak staged a lengthy hunger strike, it was enough to attract worldwide attention. The list of such pioneers includes Khader Adnan and Samer Issawi, who set records with their protests.

The actions of such individuals have unearthed hidden talents in Palestinian society. With the hunger strike of Muhammad Al-Qeeq, the Palestinian prisoners gained a bold media spokeswoman in his wife, Fayha Shalash. His protest also brought about a growth in mass civil and political activism that promises much more in the future.

Hence, we must not think that the gains achieved by these brave and intensely personal battles are limited to what the prisoners wrung out of the occupation authorities. Indeed, the prisoner issue as a whole is gaining more momentum from the hunger strikes of these individuals, with each one becoming a symbol of the harsh reality of life behind bars and an ambassador for the movement around the world. They present a challenge to Israeli propaganda.

We now need to see qualitative developments and improvements, as well serious reconsideration, in order to build on these gains. They must be used to mobilise more forces and voices in support of freedom for the political prisoners so that nobody else is forced to consider starving themselves to death in order to obtain the rights to which they are due.

It is fair to say that Muhammad Al-Qeeq was free for the entire three months of his hunger strike, and that his captors were the prisoners. They may have tied him with their handcuffs, but he shackled them with his empty stomach and iron will. The prisoner issue has entered a new phase.

Translated from Alresalah, 29 February 2016.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.