Draft:Badee Dwaik

Badee' Dwaik (born January 25, 1973, in Hebron, Palestine) is a human rights activist and writer. He was born into a poor, politically active family; his father worked in the shoe industry and was the first to establish a shoe workers' union in Palestine. He later became the deputy secretary-general of the West Bank workers' unions.

Al-Dwaik became involved in resisting the Israeli occupation in 1987 at the age of 14. He continued his activism until his arrest in 1993 following the signing of the Oslo Accords, which he opposed. He spent three years in prison.

Due to his peaceful human rights activities opposing the Israeli occupation, Al-Dwaik has faced multiple arrests and detentions. He contributed to the establishment of several youth and resistance movements, including "Youth Against Settlements," "Solidarity for a Free Palestine," and was a member of the International Solidarity Movement.

He founded the international campaign "Freedom for Shireen Issawi," advocating for the release of a Palestinian prisoner from Jerusalem. Al-Dwaik has also established numerous advocacy campaigns, such as the "Shuhada Street" campaign and the "National Campaign to Lift the Closures on the Heart of Hebron – Dismantle the Ghetto." He has organized and participated in high-profile events such as the "Freedom Bus Riders" on November 15, 2015, and the "Bab al-Shams" tent village on January 11, 2013, which was a response to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's settlement plans. Badee wrote his poem Gate of Sun in one of the tent.

In collaboration with his friend Imad Abu Shamsiya, Al-Dwaik founded the Human Rights Defenders Association in late 2013, officially renamed in 2018 as the "Charitable The National Association of Human Rights Defenders." He also launched the "Camera project: "Weapon of Life" project, previously known as " Capturing Occupation Camera " which became a BBC documentary highlighting violations and crimes committed by the Israeli occupation, including the assassination of martyr Abdel Fattah al-Sharif.

Al-Dwaik has travelled extensively across European cities and spoke at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva in September 2017.

He has also toured various countries to advocate for Palestinian human rights, particularly focusing on Hebron, which he referred to as the "Apartheid Museum" in his writings. He has lectured at prestigious institutions such as the University of McGill in Canada, aiming to expose Israeli occupation crimes and policies against Palestinians, and to promote the Palestinian narrative globally.

Additionally, Al-Dwaik organizes tours for those interested in learning about the Israeli occupation and settlement policies, known as "Alternative Tourism," which focuses on human rights conditions and Israeli policies against Palestinians.

Apart from his activism, Badee' Al-Dwaik is also a writer of articles, reflections, and poetry.