By Yasser el-Banna, IOL Palestine Correspondent

NABLUS, West Bank, November 17 (IslamOnline) - May be for the first time, technology favored the Palestinians against the Israeli occupation. Mobile phones, smuggled inside Israeli prisons and detention camps, built a new bridge between the Palestinian prisoners and their beloved families.

"I could not wait for my turn to talk to my family (over a smuggled mobile phone). Once I heard my wife calling me "Mohannad love", I felt alive again for the first time in five years," Mohannad told IslamOnline over the phone, from one of the Israeli prisons. He and other prisoners asked not to mention the name of the prison for security reasons.

"I was even more thrilled when I heard the voice of my daughter, who was born immediately after my detention. I do not even know how she looks like. I could not answer her when she asked me when I would return home," Mohannad added through his tears.

Another prisoner, Abu el-Nour, was even happier while speaking about his feelings, after two decades in the Israeli prisons and detention camps.

"Thanks to modern technology, I can now visualize my 20-year-old memories of my village. Everyday, I talk to my wife, my sons and daughter, my friends and neighbors. Through their talk, I can draw visions about the village, trees, fields and places where I spent my prime time," he said.

The Israeli prison officers and guards exert maximum efforts to locate the small devices (mobiles) and stop their prisoners from obtaining them. However, the Palestinians still mange to smuggle mobiles inside their cells and take turns in using them. They did not talk about their methods of doing so for security reasons.

One of the strangest, yet daring usage of mobile technology, is the story of Abu Oweis though.

"I decided to use the phone in furthering my studies. When I was detained, I had already obtained my Masters Degree in Prophetic Tradition. Now, I'm preparing my PHD, thanks to a mobile phone. One international university agreed to allocate a supervisor to my thesis. We communicate through the phone. I'm almost done with my PHD thesis," he said.