JERUSALEM (AP) – Some Palestinians consider him their Nelson Mandela, making him a strong candidate to become president in the future. He is also the most prominent prisoner held in Israel.
Marwan Barghouti’s freedom is currently at stake in ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel. Hamas leaders on Friday called on Israel to release Barghouti, the leader of the Islamic extremist group’s main political rival, as part of a deal to end fighting in Gaza.
The demands have drawn new attention to Barghouti, who continues to play a central role in Palestinian politics after more than two decades in prison. His release could lay the groundwork for eventual national elections.
Hamas’s move to release him appears to be an attempt to rally public support for the militant group and acknowledge his status as a unique figure who unites Palestinians.
“Hamas wants to show the Palestinian people that it is not a closed movement. They represent part of the Palestinian social community. They are trying to appear responsible. ” said Qadura Fares, head of the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners of War in the occupied West Bank and a long-time participant in negotiations for the release of prisoners.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan has called for Barghouti’s release as international mediators try to pressure Israel and Hamas towards a deal after nearly four months of war.
Israel demands the release of more than 100 hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is calling for an end to Israel’s devastating military offensive and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas militants invaded Israel, killing about 1,200 people and forcing 250 hostages back to Gaza. The Hamas attack sparked ground and air operations by Israel, killing more than 27,000 Palestinians and creating a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, according to local health officials.
More than 100 hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire in November. Israel estimates 136 hostages remain in captivity, but 20 have been declared dead. Protests have erupted in Israel demanding the immediate release of the hostages, raising pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal as there are concerns that time is running out to bring them home safely.
For Palestinians, the fate of their imprisoned relatives is highly emotional. Although Israel considers “security prisoners” to be terrorists, Palestinians widely see them as heroes in the fight against Israeli occupation. Virtually every Palestinian has a friend, relative, or acquaintance who is imprisoned.
Israeli human rights group Hamoked said Israel currently holds nearly 9,000 security prisoners. Hamas is demanding their release. However, in his remarks on Friday, Hamdan named only two people, Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat.
Mr. Saadat led a small faction that killed an Israeli minister in 2001 and is serving a 30-year sentence for his role in the attack.
Palestinians see Barghouti, 64, a member of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party, as the natural successor to Abbas, 88, who leads the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. . Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Abbas, whose military in the Gaza Strip was overrun by Hamas in 2007, hopes to regain control of the area after the war. However, he is highly unpopular due to corruption within government institutions and security ties with the Israeli military. 4,444 4,444 Palestinians have not held elections since 2006, when Hamas won a majority in parliament.
Fares, a supporter of Barghouti, said that if Barghouti were released, he could become the consensus candidate in a series of new elections that could be backed by Hamas, Fatah and other Palestinian factions. . A wartime opinion poll released in December found Mr. Barghouti to be the most popular politician among Palestinians, ahead of Mr. Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Israelis consider Barghouti a terrorist of the highest order, and convincing Israel to release Barghouti will be an uphill battle.
Mr. Barghouti, who was a leader in the West Bank during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, is serving five life sentences for his role in several deadly attacks. During that uprising, Palestinian militants carried out deadly suicide bombings and shootings against buses, restaurants, hotels, and Israelis traveling in the West Bank, prompting devastating military retaliation by Israeli forces.
In 2002, Barghouti was arrested on multiple murder charges. He offered no defense and refused to acknowledge the authority of the court. Since then, he has remained in the spotlight.
In 2021, he registered his own list for parliamentary elections, which were later canceled. A few years ago, he led more than 1,500 prisoners on a 40-day hunger strike to demand better treatment in Israel’s prison system. From prison, he continued to advocate for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
Barghouti He was born in 1962 in the village of Khobar in the West Bank. While studying history and politics at Bill Zeit University, he helped lead student protests against the Israeli occupation.
He emerged as an organizer of his first Palestinian uprising that broke out in December 1987, but Israel eventually deported him to Jordan. He returned to the West Bank in the 1990s as part of an interim peace agreement aimed at paving the way for a Palestinian state, but it failed when a second uprising erupted at the end of the decade.
At the time, Barghouti was considered the political leader of the Fatah armed group.
Israel has so far rejected calls for his release. Fares, who was involved in the negotiations, said he refused to include him in the exchange of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for a soldier captured by Hamas in Gaza in 2011. Yehya Sinwar, the current leader of Hamas in Gaza and the mastermind behind the October 7 attack, was released in the exchange.
Negotiations in 2011 focused on the release of one hostage. The lives of more than 100 hostages are now at risk, and Israel is under more pressure than ever to release Palestinian prisoners. That could pave the way for a deal that could secure Barghouti’s release and at the same time boost Hamas’ standing among Palestinians.
“Hamas is stronger and smarter than ever before,” Fares said. “They understand how necessary it is for the Palestinian people to find an agreement.”
