Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has been filmed visiting Marwan Barghouti, the most prominent Palestinian prisoner, and threatening him that Israel will “obliterate” anyone who opposes it.
It is the first time that Barghouti has been seen publicly in years. Aged and gaunt, wearing a white undershirt, he is almost unrecognisable.
In the video, which circulated on social media on Thursday night, Ben Gvir is seen telling Barghouti: “Whoever messes with the people of Israel, whoever murders our children, whoever murders our women, we will obliterate them. You will not defeat us.”
Barghouti has been in prison since 2004. A senior figure in Fatah, the party that dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA), he was targeted by Israel due to his leading role in the 2000-2005 Second Intifada and popularity among the public.
Qassem Barghouti, Marwan’s son, told Middle East Eye that his family feels a grave threat to his father’s life, particularly after this latest footage.
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“There has been an ongoing approach for two years to threaten and assault him. He was attacked for the first time two years ago at the beginning of the war and was wounded to varying degrees,” Qassem Barghouti said.
“It is clear today from the threat of National Security Minister Ben Gvir, who represents the highest Israeli security hierarchy, that there is a real danger to his life.”
Qassem Barghouti said it is “clear that there is direct threat to assassinate and kill him inside his cell” and that the targeting and abuse of Palestinian prisoners is part of the genocide that Israel is waging in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media reported that Ben Gvir was visiting Tel Aviv’s Gannot prison with prisons service commissioner Kobi Yaakobi “to closely monitor the worsening of the imprisoned terrorists’ conditions”.
Barghouti has long been held in solitary confinement. He was sentenced to five life sentences plus 40 years in an Israeli prison for attacks that killed five people, though he declined to defend himself, saying he did not recognise the court’s legitimacy.
Opinion polls suggest that Barghouti, 66, would be a shoo-in for the Palestinian presidency if they were held and he were able to run for the office.
He is seen as a unifying figure despite identifying with Fatah, which is associated with the deeply unpopular PA.
Gaza ceasefire deal: Hamas, Egypt and Qatar pushing for Marwan Barghouti’s release
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In January, MEE reported that Egypt and Qatar, alongside Hamas, were using “all means available” to secure Barghouti’s release as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.
A source close to the negotiations told MEE that his name was one of the top figures that would be traded for Israeli captives taken on 7 October 2023 in the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Major General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, the director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Services, personally interceded to push for his release, sources said.
However, a source previously told MEE that senior PA officials wanted him excluded from any exchange, fearing it could threaten the leadership of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
Following the release of the footage on Thursday, Awni Almashni, a former Fatah candidate backed by Bargouti, told MEE that “Ben Gvir believes he is insulting the Palestinian people with this display”.
“But the Palestinian people and all of Marwan’s fans are proud of Marwan Barghouti’s legendary steadfastness, his great stances, and his refusal to back down in the face of the occupation’s brutality,” he said.
“The will for freedom that Marwan represents will not be broken by the tyranny, injustice and arrogance.”
Since Israel began its genocide in Gaza in October 2023, a spike in arrests, detainment and worsening prison policies has been recorded by rights groups and media outlets.
Barghouti has been singled out for rough treatment, his family say. An attack by prison officers in September 2024 wounded his head, ears, ribs, right arm, and back.
Ben Gvir, an influential far-right settler leader, has said worsening living conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails is one of his top goals.
