Former Palestinian prisoner Omar Nazzal publishing new book

Photo: Omar Nazzal (l)

Palestinian journalist and former prisoner Omar Nazzal has written a new book, “Between Sarajevo and Etzion,” published by Dar Fafasat under the auspices of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission. The book includes images and stories from Nazzal’s time in administrative detention in 2016; he was imprisoned for 10 months through hunger strikes and protests within the prison after being seized by Israeli occupation forces as he traveled to attend the European Federation of Journalists’ conference in Sarajevo.

The arrest of Nazzal, a member of the General Secretariat of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate and President of the Association of Democratic Journalists, sparked international protest, yet his imprisonment without charge or trial was renewed on multiple occasions. He was previously jailed in 1978 and 1988 and held in administrative detention without charge or trial; in 1986, Nazzal was held under house arrest for six months.

Issa Qaraqe, head of the Prisoners Affairs Commission, said that the book exemplifies the prisoners’ resistance to all attempts to destroy their will, spirit and national identity. A launch for the book will take place in Ramallah on Sunday, 26 November.