Basem Khandakji

Basem Khandakji (باسم خندقجي; born 1983) is a Palestinian writer, journalist, and prisoner, was born in 1983. He studied at An-Najah National University in the Department of Journalism and Information. He was arrested by the Israeli defence forces on November 2, 2004, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He has published several novels, poems, and studies from inside an Israeli prison, and his novel The Eclipse of Baderddine was published in 2018.

Personal life
Basem Muhammad Salih Adeeb Khandakji was born on December 22, 1983. He studied in Nablus Governorate Schools. Later, he joined An-Najah National University to study in the Department of Journalism and Media. He witnessed the First Intifada which affected his political orientations; therefore, he joined the ranks of the former Communist Palestinian People's Party when he was 15 years old at the time. Khandakji was arrested on November 2, 2004, by Israeli forces, for his involvement in the Carmel Market bombing, in which three Israeli civilians were killed and more than 50 were wounded. Khandakji was sentenced on June 7, 2005, to three life sentence and in the testimony of the International Red Cross, he was sentenced to life. In addition to being accused of participating in the terrorist bombing attack, the Israeli authorities demanded that he compensate the families of those who were killed in the operation with an amount of $11.6 million. He spent 15 years in the prison and currently is in the "Hydrim" prison.

Career
Khandakji began his journey of writing inside the prison and he published several books, novels, and poetry collections. His first book was Drafts of the Homeland Lover, ten articles about the Palestinian concerns. He also published Thus Humanity is Dying which is about the experience of the Palestinian concerns. Khandakji also published a poetry collection, (A know on the Walls of the Place). His novel The Eclipse Baderddine was published in December 2018 and is a historical novel that talks about the Sufi hero Badreddine on his rebellion journey, making him a scholar and a pole of Sufism in his time.

Works

 * Tuqus Al Mara Al Ula, 2009
 * Anfas Qasia Lailya, 2013
 * Narjas Al 'Azlaa, 2014
 * Khosuf Baderddine, 2018
 * "A Mask, the Colour of the Sky*, 2024 (Won 2024 Arab literature award)