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Prisons have long functioned as a microcosm of the broader Israel-Palestine conflict, with Israel using detention as a mechanism for deepening security and control, and Palestinians leveraging prisons as sites for resistance and solidarity. For over fifty years, Palestinian detainees have pushed for rights using a range of tactics, including the establishment of covert self-governance and education systems in the prisons, daily acts of refusal and disobedience, and of course, hunger strikes. As I document in my book, The Palestinian Prisoners Movement (Routledge 2021), hunger strikes are typically used as a last resort to put maximum pressure on authorities, and collective strikes were usually organized well in advance, preparing the detainees, deciding on demands, and communicating covertly with activist networks outside the prisons to bring attention to the strike. 

 

The hunger strikes of 2012 were slightly different from those of the past, in that 1) they were undertaken by individuals rather than the collective of prisoners, and 2) they were demanding release rather than a change in prison conditions or rights. Hunger strikes have had a mixed record of success; sometimes rights or releases were achieved, while at other times, prisoners were punished and conditions worsened during or after a strike. The 2012 strikes resulted in some releases, and also brought international attention to the use of administrative detention, a particular type of arrest in which individuals are held indefinitely without charge or trial, alleging that a person plans to commit a future offense. But the practice is still widely used, with over 3,000 Palestinians held under this policy in 2024. It is unclear when we will see another wave of hunger strikes, but it is likely that, as long as widespread incarceration continues, so will prison-based resistance.

 

Julie M. Norman

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DR. JULIE M. NORMAN IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT UCL. SHE IS THE AUTHOR OF MULTIPLE BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON ISRAEL-PALESTINE, AND SHE IS CURRENTLY WRITING A BOOK ON GAZA.
 

DR. NORMAN IS DEVELOPING A NEW ISRAEL-PALESTINE INITIATIVE AT UCL, TO SERVE AS A HUB FOR CONVENING STUDENTS AND STAFF FROM ANY/ALL BACKGROUNDS AND PERSPECTIVES TO BETTER DISCUSS, UNDERSTAND, AND THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT THE CONFLICT.

 

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING, PLEASE CONTACT JULIE.NORMAN@UCL.AC.UK.