Photo credit: The Palestinian Information Center
The latest episode of PalCast featured a deeply personal account from Abdulkhaliq Burnat, a 26-year-old Palestinian law student from Bil’in in the West Bank, who spent five years in Israeli jails, including four years under administrative detention without charge or trial. In this episode, Burnat spoke to hosts Yousef Aljamal and Tony Groves about his experiences in detention, the abuses he suffered and witnessed, and his determination to become a lawyer who can help challenge the administrative detention system.
Burnat described how his imprisonment began after he was shot in the head by Israeli forces and spent around a week and a half in hospital. He was arrested on the day he was discharged, while still suffering from vision and nerve problems and while he was still a minor. He said he was denied medication and legal representation during his initial detention. The only charge brought against him was “incitement” for asking for freedom, which resulted in a one-year sentence. His detention was then repeatedly extended for another four years through administrative detention orders without the normal legal process.
The episode also explored the treatment Burnat experienced and witnessed inside Israeli prisons. He described interrogations that lasted between 22 and 25 hours, during which he was handcuffed, held in painful positions, physically assaulted, subjected to forced nudity and cold water, and threatened without access to a lawyer. He also recounted witnessing severe abuse against other prisoners, including an elderly man forced to lick water from the ground and a prisoner who was beaten to death after requesting medication.
At Muscovy prison in Jerusalem, Burnat spent 60 days in an underground cell without a mattress or blanket, exposed to freezing air conditioning and unable to see the sun or sky. After two months, he was told that he was the “wrong person” and released. Despite what he experienced, Burnat said his message from prisoners was a call for sustained, practical solidarity and continued campaigns for their release, stressing that the prisoner cause concerns everyone.
Burnat’s experiences also shaped his decision to study law and work for the rights of Palestinian prisoners. Having lost much of his childhood to imprisonment, he said he wanted to use his personal experience to help others and contribute to their freedom. The full episode is now available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.