Palestinian climber’s wish from the Israeli prison “I want to climb all the mountains”

Abdallah Motan

A 30 years old young Palestinian man, has spent a year and a half of his life behind bars. He has lost many kilograms, and his curly hair is now shaved to zero, as his lawyer describes. Sometimes he suffers from scabies, a skin disease that spreads uncontrollably. During his last visit, he was hopeful to be released—but if not, the Israeli court may extend his detention by another six months.

Motan is a climber and film maker from Bruqa, east of Ramallah. He is known as one of the strongest climbers in Palestine. For him, climbing is not just a sport—it is a path to freedom.

In general, freedom in Palestine is either missing or incomplete. And yet, Motan’s partial freedom has been taken away, just like it has for thousands of other Palestinians in prison—each one with their own life and dreams, now paused until release.

Motan is held in Ofer, an Israeli military court, under what is called ‘administrative detention’. His charges are not public, even for his lawyer. Because the lawyer doesn’t know the accusations, he cannot defend Motan properly. Administrative detention goes against one of the most basic human rights and even ancient judicial principles.

Abdallah was arrested in January 2025, at what is known as “the Bridge”—the crossing where Palestinians go to reach Jordan and fly to other countries. At the Israeli checkpoint, they decided he could not travel and sent him back to prison. A plan to gain freedom ended in complete lockdown.

For every Palestinian, leaving Palestine and traveling abroad offers a taste of freedom. They begin to wander, feel what freedom means, and then a growing homesick hits back. Many Palestinians feel deeply connected to their land: the soil, the people, the food, the rocks, and the community itself, despite the beauty of the world,

Abdallah Motan and Rock Climbing

Abdallah comes from the village of Burqa—land that settlers aim to control and seize completely. Their decades-long plan includes taking over the area, building more settlements, and terrorizing people, children, sheep, and eventually climbers. This is the freedom that everyone lacks and longs for.

Abdallah started rock climbing in 2021. He showed great potential and quickly became one of the best climbers in Palestine. He developed his own style, turning hard routes into entertainment. He was brave—sometimes the route was beyond his level, but he was always ready to try.

One day, Abdallah told Wadi Palestine team about a rocky mountain near his village. He used to climb it as a child, without any gear. Later, the team went to bolt it, and it became one of the most beautiful climbing spots in Palestine. But as they started to establish the crag, they were met with rifles from Israeli settlers on the top of the crag trying to seize the land—land with owners and documents from the village.

Abdallah has witnessed the theft of his village's land since birth. He also saw the killing of his cousin, Qusai Motan, by impune settlers—before October 7th. After that date, he watched with his own eyes and through his camera lens as the same settlers, put a total control on his land, including the climbing crag, and burned the olive trees. Those trees had roots stretching back thousands of years, and maybe they kept him cool during the summer heat.

Similarly to the olive trees is the case of the Palestinian prisoners, it needs to be solved soon; they are experiencing one of the worst tragedies in prison history. “The situation is unimaginable, no one can truly feel or hear them” as they say after release. There is no spotlight on them because of bigger events happening in the region. They have had no rest, no break—and so far their suffering only grows.

“I Want to Climb All the Mountains of Palestine When I Am Released” This is the latest message from Abdallah, shared through his lawyer from the Israeli prison. He adds, “Hopefully this July!”

We hope that wish comes true, so he can be among his loved ones and have no other prison extension in the upcoming month.

Feel free to write him a message below

Follow his instagram page, and his films page