Palestine's Mandela Under Danger
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has been filmed visiting Marwan Barghouti, the most prominent Palestinian prisoner, dubbed as ‘Palestine’s Mandela’, 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. Look at what Israel has done to Marwan Barghouthi — this a still from a video of him in prison cell released today. Stripped of his hair and beard, with a tortured look in his eyes.
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 his family feels a grave threat to his father's life, particularly after this latest footage.
"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.
Among Palestinians, Marwan Barghouti’s popularity is unsurpassed.
Politician and professor – and a peacemaker now imprisoned for armed resistance – the man regarded by many as Palestinians’ “Mandela” looms larger than ever amid the devastating Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and spiraling violence across the West Bank.
Rising from humble farmhand to community organizer to a leader of the national Fatah party, Mr. Barghouti became known for his soaring oratory and common touch.
Many believe that Mr. Barghouti, if released from prison, would go straight to Gaza to reconcile Fatah with Hamas – whose infighting he describes as a “catastrophe” – and form a new, broad national unity government that could resolve the current conflict with Israel.
“We must achieve unity, and then liberty,” multiple associates quote him as saying recently.
“If the international community is serious about solving the conflict in Gaza, they will push for Marwan’s release,” Barghouti comrade Mahmoud Jabri says from the office of the Free Marwan Barghouti Campaign in Ramallah.
“He is the key to any future political solution.”
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If you feel powerless to help Gaza, you still has a choice: donate. When so much of what exists is false, authenticity is a powerful weapon we can wield that the state never could. So if you feel lost, hopeless, depressed, angry and afraid, I implore you to return - again and again - to the feeling of love that exists within you that brought you here in the first place. It is only through this that we can remake the world.
Please keep donate Gaza especially if you, as reader, has [background] International Relation [whatever universities]. IR Graduate means [you must, at least] get some semester [about] studying Middle East [in macro, not specifically Gaza].
We need more people to share fundraisers instead of only talking about Gaza. Some people think that those in Gaza don't need money but that's wrong. Almost everyone lost their source of income while essentials, food & medicine get sold for astronomical prices. So I put my attempt in all social media as I can, in twitter / X, in substack [since October 2023 I put link donation], in bluesky or bsky, in threads, in instagram.
Link to donate World Food Programme - Palestine appeal: click here
[Daniel Brühl]
Most campaign shared or circulated in social media are for REAL people in Gaza. They're legit. There are a lot of small campaigns for struggling families. This is their only lifeline. By donating & sharing, you are literally making history and alleviating part of their pain
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