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These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons
"Ramzy Baroud's book of Palestinian prisoners' stories is a remarkable work. With each story, there is a roll-call of the best of humanity. courage, struggle, determination, generosity, passion, humility .. Everyone should read this searing and beautiful book." JOHN PILGER “... you will delve into the lives of men and women, read intimate stories that they have chosen to share with you, stories that may surprise you, anger you and even shock you. But they are crucial stories that must be told, read and retold." KHALIDA JARRAR, Palestine Legislative Council "The rationale for Palestinian resistance is heightened by having law and morality on the side of demands for an end to the oppressive Israeli occupation and the persistent abuse of fundamental Palestinian rights...." RICHARD FALK, former UN Special Rapporteur, Prof. Emeritus, PrincetonHundreds of thousands of Palestinians have experienced life in Israel's prisons since 1967, as did many more in previous decades during the course of the ongoing Israeli military occupation. Yet rarely has the story of their experiences in Israeli jails been told by the prisoners themselves. Typically the Western media portrays them as ‘terrorists’ while well-meaning third-party human rights advocates paint them as hapless victims. They are neither. This book permits the reader to access the reality of Palestinian imprisonment as told by Palestinian prisoners themselves -- stories of appalling suffering and determination to reclaim their freedom.The stories in this book are not meant to serve as an account of Israeli torture methods. Instead, each story highlights a distinct experience -- each so personal, so profound -- in order to underline the humanity of those who are constantly dehumanized by Israeli hasbara and the mainstream corporate media’s biased accounts.. Palestinian prisoners are an essential element in the collective resistance against Israeli colonialism, apartheid and military occupation. Rather than being viewed as unfortunate victims, their steadfastness exemplifies the ongoing fight of the Palestinian people as a whole. In reality, all Palestinians living under Israeli occupation and siege are also prisoners. The Gaza Strip is often referred to as the “world’s largest open-air prison.” It is in this context that this book becomes an essential read
174 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 20, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 21, 2024
These Chains Will Be Broken is small, but a real gut punch. It is simply the stories of individual Palestinian prisoners. Men, women, children. Some arbitrary, some sentenced to 600 years, some arrested for resisting occupation, unlucky enough to break down in front of a checkpoint. All are stories of horrific Israeli cruelty and extraordinary Palestinian patience and resilience.
The prisoner issue is often left out of the conversation, though freeing these thousands of people is the reason Israeli hostages get taken. There is great info at the end on international law and whether or not it is useful by Richard Falk
This is definitely an accessible angle into understanding a slice of what people have come to call "the conflict." (Ethnic cleansing, occupation, apartheid, genocide are more accurate descriptions.) I highly recommend it.
The prisoner issue is often left out of the conversation, though freeing these thousands of people is the reason Israeli hostages get taken. There is great info at the end on international law and whether or not it is useful by Richard Falk
This is definitely an accessible angle into understanding a slice of what people have come to call "the conflict." (Ethnic cleansing, occupation, apartheid, genocide are more accurate descriptions.) I highly recommend it.
July 26, 2021
This is not a book that is meant to be wielded with statistics and documents proving this or that fact. These are testimonies told by Palestinians who have been incarcerated, or by members of their family. Political imprisonment is meant to break the ties that bind, but these stories speak of the deep connections to family, friends, land and culture.
January 24, 2025
This compilation of stories from former and current Palestinian prisoners is possibly the most heart-wrenching book I have ever read. The injustice of the Israeli apartheid regime is stripped bare for all to see. Bearing witness to such horrors is important, and this book serves as a deeply personal testimony of those who experienced them.
August 17, 2026
How can one even begin to describe the horrors related in this book?
Wafa Ibrahim Samir al-Bis, thrown into an underground, solitary confinement dungeon for two years, on whom boiling tea was thrown as she was left to scream alone for hours. She befriended a cat and made a place for her to birth her kittens. When the guards discovered this, they poisoned the mother and babies and then crushed them under their boots.
Dareen Tantour, who broker her leg in a fall and was left for a day without medical care other than a bag of ice and a pill, then finally transported to a hospital, shackled in a mobile dungeon even thought she couldn’t move.
Kifah Sobhi, whose guards electroshocked her, burned cigarettes on her, then finally brought a man to rape her. They backed down only when they saw that even this wouldn’t break her, after she told them they may as well go ahead.
Dima Ismail al-Wawi, attacked from nowhere at 12 by a settler who then claimed she had tried to stab him. She spent months in jail for nothing, being freed only after being told she was getting a life sentence as a form of psychological torture.
Mohammed Khalil Al-Halabi, arrested and tortured for the crime of being World Vision’s Director in Gaza. He was accused of channeling money to the wrong people - sums somehow larger than the organization’s entire budget. Denied sleep, beaten on his genitals, subjected to endless loud music, stripped naked and blasted with hot air (in the summer) and cold air (in the winter). At the time of publication, years after his arrest, he was still in jail.
Mohamma Abeed Al Qiq, whose door was dynamited in the middle of the night because he had the temerity to report as a journalist on what Israel was doing to his people. Only after a hunger strike that almost killed him was he released.
Khadija Ahmad Ibrahim Khweis, whose feet went numb from her shackles and fell down, barely grazing the boot of an Israeli soldier’s boot who screamed that she’d been attacked and initiated a collective beating, mocking her prison throughout the flurry of punches and kicks.
Fouad Qasim al-Razim, whose mother was brought to see him in prison as she was dying. The head of the prison and army officers stood there, watching him weep and smirking at them both, enjoying the scene of a prisoner suffering in the knowledge that his mother’s days were numbered.
Israa’ Riyad Ja’abis, whose door relates was deliberately trapped in a burning car by a retired Israeli police officer who gave himself the right to demand her papers and slam the door on her hand when she tried to exit the car before it burst into flames. After the faulty propane tank she was transported exploded, he accused her of terrorism and was of course believed since his testimony was the only one allowed. She was horrifically burned, lost all but two fingers and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
And Faris Baroud, who spent a decade in solitary confinement and was never once allowed a visit from his mother despite decades of her trying. She died blind, unable even to see his picture any more. Her last words were, “my only wishes to hold my son and kiss his forehead, just once before I die.“ Two years later, he too, died blind from glaucoma, having never seen his mother again.
I don’t know what to say to do justice to these people. Their steadfastness in the face of the most unimaginable cruelty is more than I can begin to fathom. As our the savagery, the barbarism, the sadism, the viciousness, the arrogance, and the sheer evil of the Israelis who did this to them with joy on their faces and in their hearts. I don’t know how to describe them, except as monsters.
This book makes you want to weep at the injustice of the world, and yet it is essential reading for anyone with a soul.
Wafa Ibrahim Samir al-Bis, thrown into an underground, solitary confinement dungeon for two years, on whom boiling tea was thrown as she was left to scream alone for hours. She befriended a cat and made a place for her to birth her kittens. When the guards discovered this, they poisoned the mother and babies and then crushed them under their boots.
Dareen Tantour, who broker her leg in a fall and was left for a day without medical care other than a bag of ice and a pill, then finally transported to a hospital, shackled in a mobile dungeon even thought she couldn’t move.
Kifah Sobhi, whose guards electroshocked her, burned cigarettes on her, then finally brought a man to rape her. They backed down only when they saw that even this wouldn’t break her, after she told them they may as well go ahead.
Dima Ismail al-Wawi, attacked from nowhere at 12 by a settler who then claimed she had tried to stab him. She spent months in jail for nothing, being freed only after being told she was getting a life sentence as a form of psychological torture.
Mohammed Khalil Al-Halabi, arrested and tortured for the crime of being World Vision’s Director in Gaza. He was accused of channeling money to the wrong people - sums somehow larger than the organization’s entire budget. Denied sleep, beaten on his genitals, subjected to endless loud music, stripped naked and blasted with hot air (in the summer) and cold air (in the winter). At the time of publication, years after his arrest, he was still in jail.
Mohamma Abeed Al Qiq, whose door was dynamited in the middle of the night because he had the temerity to report as a journalist on what Israel was doing to his people. Only after a hunger strike that almost killed him was he released.
Khadija Ahmad Ibrahim Khweis, whose feet went numb from her shackles and fell down, barely grazing the boot of an Israeli soldier’s boot who screamed that she’d been attacked and initiated a collective beating, mocking her prison throughout the flurry of punches and kicks.
Fouad Qasim al-Razim, whose mother was brought to see him in prison as she was dying. The head of the prison and army officers stood there, watching him weep and smirking at them both, enjoying the scene of a prisoner suffering in the knowledge that his mother’s days were numbered.
Israa’ Riyad Ja’abis, whose door relates was deliberately trapped in a burning car by a retired Israeli police officer who gave himself the right to demand her papers and slam the door on her hand when she tried to exit the car before it burst into flames. After the faulty propane tank she was transported exploded, he accused her of terrorism and was of course believed since his testimony was the only one allowed. She was horrifically burned, lost all but two fingers and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
And Faris Baroud, who spent a decade in solitary confinement and was never once allowed a visit from his mother despite decades of her trying. She died blind, unable even to see his picture any more. Her last words were, “my only wishes to hold my son and kiss his forehead, just once before I die.“ Two years later, he too, died blind from glaucoma, having never seen his mother again.
I don’t know what to say to do justice to these people. Their steadfastness in the face of the most unimaginable cruelty is more than I can begin to fathom. As our the savagery, the barbarism, the sadism, the viciousness, the arrogance, and the sheer evil of the Israelis who did this to them with joy on their faces and in their hearts. I don’t know how to describe them, except as monsters.
This book makes you want to weep at the injustice of the world, and yet it is essential reading for anyone with a soul.
June 16, 2026
Ramzy Baroud's collection of testimonies from Palestinians in the Israeli prison system moved me deeply because they come from ordinary people enduring extraordinary torments. Often, when we read Palestinians, we're reading the works of highly educated elites. There's nothing wrong with that, but here's a different take, by people of great faith holding them together, faith in learning, faith in God, faith in a daughter never seen. The ability of these people, held prisoner on their own land, to express themselves in a way that's both personal and universal makes them true intellectuals in the best sense of the word.
April 14, 2025
Read it in two days and the stories got progressively sadder.
RTC.
RTC.
October 17, 2025
Must read important to understanding the prisoner movement and overall an amazing book. Free all them all!
January 27, 2023
معين الدمع لن يبقى معينا … فمن أي المصائب تدمعينا
زمانٌ هون الأحرار منا … فديت وحكم الأنذال فينا
ملأنا البر من قتلى كرام … على غير الإهانه صابرينا
كأنهم أتوا سوق المنايا … فصاروا ينظرون وينتقونا
لو أن الدهر يعرف حق قوم … لقبل منهم اليد والجبينا
عرفنا الدهر في حاليه حتى … تعودناهما شدا ولينا
فما رد الرثاء لنا قتيلا … ولا فك الرجاء لنا سجينا
سنبحث عن شهيد في قماط … نبايعه أمير المؤمنينا
ونحمله على هام الرزايا … لدهر نشتهيه ويشتهينا
فإن الحق مشتاق إلى أن … يرى بعض الجبابر ساجدينا
(تميم البرغوثي)
زمانٌ هون الأحرار منا … فديت وحكم الأنذال فينا
ملأنا البر من قتلى كرام … على غير الإهانه صابرينا
كأنهم أتوا سوق المنايا … فصاروا ينظرون وينتقونا
لو أن الدهر يعرف حق قوم … لقبل منهم اليد والجبينا
عرفنا الدهر في حاليه حتى … تعودناهما شدا ولينا
فما رد الرثاء لنا قتيلا … ولا فك الرجاء لنا سجينا
سنبحث عن شهيد في قماط … نبايعه أمير المؤمنينا
ونحمله على هام الرزايا … لدهر نشتهيه ويشتهينا
فإن الحق مشتاق إلى أن … يرى بعض الجبابر ساجدينا
(تميم البرغوثي)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews