Bassem Khandaqji spent 21 years in Israeli prisons, winning the 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for "A Mask the Colour of the Sky" while still behind bars. Now in exile, the Palestinian novelist speaks to Tarwida Podcast about writing secretly at 4am, smuggling manuscripts out of detention, and how imagination helped him survive and resist. He also introduces Adab al-Ishtibak — Literature of Engagement — and previews his next novel about late fellow prisoner Walid Daqqa.
Bassem Khandaqji is a Palestinian novelist from Nablus who spent more than 2 decades in Israeli prison, sentenced to three life terms. In 2024, while still behind bars, he won the international book prize for Arabic fiction (Arabic Booker Prize) for his novel Mask of the Sky (قناع بلون السماء). Released in October 2024 in a prisoner exchange deal, he now lives in exile in Cairo.
In this episode of Tarwida, Bassem Khandaqji speaks about writing novels under occupation, while writing was forbidden — drafting by hand at 4am, making three copies of every manuscript, and smuggling completed works out of detention.
The conversation covers the cultural and academic life inside Israeli prisons, its destruction after October 7 — what Khandaqji calls cultural genocide. He discusses his novels in depth, including how he spent a year immersed in Hebrew-language media to write his Israeli protagonist — thinking in Hebrew, writing in Arabic. He introduces Adab al-Ishtibak — Literature of Engagement — a framework for anti-colonial literature that dismantles Zionist ideology. He reflects on Yaffa, Jerusalem, Palestinian exile, and Mahmoud Darwish, and discusses his next novel about late fellow prisoner Walid Daqqa.
باسم خندقجي روائي فلسطيني من نابلس، قضى أكثر من عقدين في السجون الإسرائيلية بحكم بثلاثة مؤبدات. في 2024، فاز وهو خلف القضبان بالجائزة العالمية للرواية العربية (البوكر العربي) عن روايته "قناع بلون السماء"، وأُفرج عنه في أكتوبر 2024 ضمن صفقة تبادل، ويعيش اليوم في المنفى بالقاهرة.
في هذه الحلقة من ترويدة، يتحدث خندقجي عن الكتابة تحت الاحتلال — يكتب بخط يده في الرابعة فجراً، ينسخ كل مخطوطة ثلاث مرات، ويهرّبها خارج الاحتجاز. يتناول الحياة الثقافية داخل السجون الإسرائيلية وما لحق بها من دمار بعد ال 7 من أكتوبر، وعاماً أمضاه منغمساً في الإعلام العبري لكتابة شخصيته الإسرائيلية، ومفهوم "أدب الاشتباك"، وروايته القادمة عن الأسير الشهيد وليد دقة.
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This episode is hosted and produced by Tala Elissa. Our executive producer is Zina Jardaneh. Our associate producer is Zeena Shehadeh. Social media by Leen Karadsheh. Research and copywriting by Dima Sharif. Branding by Sara Sukhun.
This conversation was recorded in person on February 8, 2026, in Cairo. You can watch it with English subtitles on YouTube.
Tarwida is a series of conversations that bring Palestinian arts, culture, and heritage to the forefront. We hear from artists, including writers, filmmakers, musicians, architects, and more, about their very own Palestine. In a nutshell, if you want to know more about (Creative) Palestine, this is the place to be.
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