Jailed Palestinian Leader Marwan Barghouti Can Unify Palestinians and Revive Peace Process

Jailed Palestinian Leader Marwan Barghouti Can Unify Palestinians and Revive Peace Process, Son Urges

In a poignant appeal from the heart of the West Bank, the son of imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti has called on the international community to secure his father’s release, framing him as the singular figure capable of unifying a fractured Palestinian society and resurrecting the moribund two-state solution.

Arab Barghouti’s interview with AFP in Ramallah comes amid a shifting geopolitical landscape, following the formal recognition of a Palestinian state by several European nations and a recent truce in the Gaza conflict. He directed his message squarely at the United States, urging President Donald Trump to “seize the opportunity” and pressure Israel for his father’s freedom.

The “Mandela of Palestine” and His Contested Legacy

Marwan Barghouti, 66, is a central yet polarizing figure in the Palestinian struggle. Hailed by his supporters as the “Mandela of Palestine,” he was a prominent leader of the Second Intifada, the Palestinian uprising that began in 2000. To his followers, he embodies the spirit of popular resistance; to Israel and many of its allies, he is a terrorist mastermind.

In 2004, an Israeli court convicted him on five counts of murder for his involvement in attacks carried out by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades during the Intifada, sentencing him to five life sentences. Barghouti denied the charges, rejecting the court’s legitimacy and framing his struggle as one for Palestinian liberation. Despite two decades behind bars, his popularity has not dimmed but has, in many ways, grown.

A Unifier in a Divided Political Landscape

Arab Barghouti argues that his father represents a rare consensus candidate in Palestine’s deeply divided polity. As a longtime and repeatedly re-elected member of Fatah’s central committee—even from his prison cell—he maintains credibility within the mainstream Palestinian Authority. Simultaneously, his history of armed resistance and his imprisonment by Israel have earned him respect from rival factions, including the Islamist group Hamas.

“Hamas, which violently pushed Fatah out of the Gaza Strip after winning the elections there in 2006, has nevertheless repeatedly called for Marwan Barghouti’s release,” the article notes, highlighting his unique cross-factional appeal. This is borne out by polling; a survey last May by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found Barghouti would be the clear frontrunner in a presidential election, posing a significant challenge to the long-serving President Mahmoud Abbas.

“Someone like him represents a great opportunity for the international community to prove that they are serious about supporting the two-state solution,” Arab Barghouti stated.

Appeals to Washington and Harsh Prison Reality

The family’s campaign for his release is gaining visibility. Arab’s appeal is the second from the Barghouti family to President Trump, following a similar plea from his wife, Fadwa, earlier in the month. Trump acknowledged the matter in a mid-October interview with Time magazine, stating he would be “making a decision” on it, though without providing a timeline.

This diplomatic push unfolds against a backdrop of concerning reports about Barghouti’s treatment in prison. Arab Barghouti revealed that his father has spent much of the last two years in solitary confinement and communicates with the outside world only through his lawyer, whom he has seen just five or six times in that period.

In a particularly alarming account, Arab stated that recently released prisoners reported his father was severely beaten during a prison transfer in September. “Four of his ribs got broken, he got severe injuries in his head, and he lost consciousness,” he said. These claims are bolstered by a video from August, circulated on social media, which showed Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, confronting a physically weakened Barghouti in his cell—an act critics denounced as intimidation.

A “Life Mission” Beyond Prison Walls

Despite the physical toll and prolonged isolation, his son insists that Marwan Barghouti’s resolve remains unbroken. Asked if his father would seek rest upon release, Arab Barghouti dismissed the notion.

“Knowing my father, I know that he will be playing an active role in stopping the suffering, the rebuilding of Gaza, helping the Palestinian people overall, because that’s been his life mission,” he said.

He also hinted at the internal reforms his father could champion, noting, “We have corruption issues that we need to address as Palestinians, and we need to be brave enough to look in the mirror and to take responsibility for our mistakes.”

For his supporters, Barghouti represents not just a path to unity, but a chance for Palestinian renewal. However, Israel has thus far remained steadfast in its refusal to release him, including in prisoner exchanges related to the Gaza war. As the political landscape shifts, the fate of the man many see as a potential Palestinian president-in-waiting remains one of the most potent and unresolved questions at the heart of the conflict.

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