Who is Basim Khandaqji? Jailed Palestinian Writer in Israel Wins Int'l Prize For Arabic Fiction

Jerusalem: Basim Khandaqji, a jailed Palestinian writer in Israel won the prestigious international award for Arabic fiction on Sunday, April 29, for his novel "A Mask, the Colour of the Sky." The 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction was announced in Abu Dhabi. Basim's award was received by Rana Idriss, owner of Dar al-Adab, the book's Lebanon-based publisher.

Khandaqji's book was chosen from 133 works submitted to the competition. The jury, Nabil Suleiman, said that the novel, "dissects a complex, bitter reality of family fragmentation, displacement, genocide, and racism."

As part of the prize, the writer won a $50,000 sum.

Who is Basim Khandaqji?

Born in 1983 in West Bank's Nablus, Basim was always fond of writing. He wrote short stories until his arrest in 2004 at the age of 21.

He studied Journalism and Media at the Al-Najah National University in Nablus. After Basim was convicted and jailed on charges relating to a deadly bombing in Tel Aviv, he registered with the Al-Quds University and studied Political Science with a thesis on Israeli Studies.

Despite being in jail, Basim continued writing articles about literature, politics and female Palestinian activists and even wrote about prisoners in Israeli jails.

Ever since being jailed, Khandaqji has written several poetry collections such as Rituals of the First Time" and "The Breath of a Nocturnal Poem".

The word 'Mask' in the title 'A Mask, the Colour of the Sky" refers to the blue identity of an archaeologist named Nur, living in a refugee camp in Ramallah. Upon finding the car, Nur takes on the life of the card's namesake in an attempt to understand life behind the Israeli security fence.