April 7, 2024
Glory to the Revolutionary Palestinian Political Prisoner and Martyr Walid Daqqa
Today, from inside the walls of the notorious Ramleh prison, the Palestinian revolutionary and intellectual Walid Daqqa ascended to martyrdom.
Hailing from the Palestinian town of Baqa Al-Gharbiyye, Daqqa was among the most prominent intellectual figures in the Palestinian prisoners’ movement, penning books and essays from behind prison walls that went on to influence generations of Palestinian political thought.
Daqqa was among a dozen Palestinian political prisoners whose release was negotiated in the 1993 Oslo Accords. On the day of his scheduled release, the Zionist authorities reversed their decision for unspecified reasons. Daqqa was incarcerated a total of 38 years, until his martyrdom.
During his imprisonment, Daqqa was denied the right to have a family, to raise his daughter, and to see his dying parents. In 2022, Daqqa was diagnosed with myelofibrosis — a rare form of bone marrow cancer that disrupts the body’s normal production of blood cells. Israel repeatedly delayed his treatment and rejected his request for an urgently needed bone marrow transplant.
Israel murdered Walid Daqqa through medical negligence — deliberately denying him treatment and delaying necessary procedures for him as a punishment for his continued writing and political activities from behind prison walls. Israel uses medical negligence to kill Palestinian political prisoners who would otherwise live a normal lifespan when they are diagnosed with a treatable illness while in prison.
Our national liberation struggle has suffered a deep loss. For some time, the PYM had campaigned for Daqqa’s release, struggling alongside his family and community in Palestine to secure his freedom. Today, Walid ascended to martyrdom. Yet Walid and all Palestinian prisoners remain our compass, even after their departure from this world. Walid’s teachings, his writings, and his wisdom will remain with us, and continue to guide us on the road to liberation.
Glory to Walid Daqqa. Glory to every Palestinian prisoner whose resistance extended from the village of their birth to the walls of the prison cell where they ascended. May we recall their names and their sacrifice at the hour of liberation.