Fresh accounts have sparked international concern over the fate of Marwan Barghouti, the most prominent and popular Palestinian political leader, who has been imprisoned in Israel for more than two decades. According to testimonies from recently released inmates, the 66-year-old was violently assaulted by Israeli prison guards and lost consciousness.
Barghouti’s son, Arab Barghouti, said his father was beaten by eight guards on 14 September while being transferred between Ganot and Megiddo prisons. Five Palestinian prisoners freed this week told reporters that Barghouti described being punched and kicked in the head, chest and legs before blacking out. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said Barghouti suffered fractures to four ribs and was unable to walk for days after the incident. Arab Barghouti added this was the fourth beating in two years. Since Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, which ignited the war in Gaza, Barghouti has been held in solitary confinement. He is a senior figure in Fatah, a rival of Hamas.
The alleged assault reportedly occurred shortly after a visit by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the prison in August. Ben Gvir, a far-right politician previously convicted of incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organisation, had posted a video mocking Barghouti. He is also alleged to have humiliated him face-to-face, showing him a photograph of an electric chair and saying he “deserves to be executed.” In comments to Maariv, Ben Gvir denied the allegations, accusing Barghouti of “inventing fake news to incite his terrorist comrades,” but added: “I am proud that his detention regime has changed radically, the days of comfort are over.”
Who is Marwan Barghouti?
Often dubbed the “Palestinian Mandela,” Barghouti is one of the most emblematic, and contested, figures in modern Palestinian politics. Born in 1959 near Ramallah, he joined Fatah at a young age and rose through the movement associated with Yasser Arafat. Detained and exiled multiple times, he became a leading voice for Palestinian self-determination. In 2002, after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, he was arrested by Israel and later sentenced to five life terms for orchestrating attacks that killed five civilians, charges he and international supporters describe as politically motivated.
Despite more than twenty years in prison, polls consistently rank Barghouti as the most popular Palestinian leader. Supporters say he is uniquely placed to bridge Fatah and Hamas and to press for a viable two-state solution. During the recent U.S.-mediated truce, 250 Palestinian prisoners were released, but the Netanyahu government refused to include Barghouti, a decision that fuelled anger among Palestinians.
His son said: “My father is the voice of reason. He has supported a two-state solution for decades and is accepted internationally. Israel’s refusal to include him in the deal shows they are not seeking a legitimate Palestinian leadership, they want to keep us divided.” Across the region and beyond, many view Barghouti as a potential bridge between resistance and diplomacy, a symbol of hope for freedom, unity and dignity who still awaits his own release.
Source: Guardian