GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Many Palestinians follow the Israeli media on a daily basis because developments in Israel directly affect their lives. Those Palestinians who have learned Hebrew through contact with Israelis in the course of work in Israel or integration into Israeli society, can access the gamut of Israeli media outlets, while those who do not understand Hebrew can follow Kol Israel radio, which broadcasts in Arabic. In recent years, the return of released Palestinian prisoners to Gaza has sparked Gazans’ interest in learning Hebrew and more about Israeli society.

Although there are no official statistics available, it is probably safe to say that the number of Gazans who understand Hebrew has declined since 2000, when the second Palestinian intifada broke out and Israel tightened restrictions on Palestinians being able to work there. Later, in 2007, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized control from Fatah. As a result, Palestinians and Israelis lost touch with each other, and the former lost interest in Israeli affairs.

In 2011, some 1,000 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. Detention in Israel was a defining experience in the lives of many of the former prisoners, and through their confinement they were introduced to Israeli society. Some of them learned Hebrew on their own and then taught it to their fellow inmates. After their release, some detainees established centers specializing in Hebrew-Arabic translation and research on Israeli affairs. Al-Monitor spoke to several such prisoners, all of them released in the Shalit deal.

In a 2010 report published by the Palestinian Prisoners' Center for Studies, Raafat Hamdouna, a former prisoner and researcher on Palestinian detainee affairs, explored cultural and educational life in Israeli prisons. Hamdouna wrote, “The detainees got their right to university education from the prison administration as a compromise during the hunger strike starting Sept. 27, 1992. At the time, the detainees demanded the right to enroll in Arab universities, but Israel denied them this request to keep them disadvantaged. The detainees learned Hebrew through personal effort and the help of their inmates. Hundreds of them enrolled in universities, and some received bachelor's degrees, while others received master’s degrees.”