A man walks past a mural depicting the Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, with a message that reads in Arabic, “See you soon”, on Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
| Photo Credit: AP
The wife of high-profile Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti, Fadwa Barghouti, appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to help release the popular leader from his Israeli jail, her son Arab told AFP.
Mr. Barghouti, 66, is serving multiple life sentences since 2002 for deadly attacks on Israelis but is seen by many Palestinians as a potential leader who could unite their national movement.
“Mr. President, a genuine partner awaits you — one who can help fulfil the dream we share of just and lasting peace in the region. For the sake of freedom for the Palestinian people and peace for all future generations, help release Marwan Barghouti,” lawyer Fadwa Barghouti said in a statement.
Asked whether he would support freeing Mr. Barghouti during an interview with U.S. magazine Time on October 15, Mr. Trump said he’d be “making a decision” on the matter, without specifying a timeline.
Asked about the matter on Friday during a briefing in Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “I have nothing new to give you on this topic.”
Hailing from Hamas’s historic rival Fatah, he was among the Palestinian prisoners Hamas had wanted to see released as part of the U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal, according to Egyptian state-linked media.
Mr. Barghouti, whose supporters sometimes refer to as the “Palestinian Mandela”, is regarded as one of the few Palestinian figures who could be accepted by all political factions as a leader.
In a video he shared on social media in August, Israel’s National Security Minister and far-right firebrand Itamar Ben Gvir was seen visiting and threatening a physically diminished Barghouti in jail.
Published – October 24, 2025 10:28 pm IST
