Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti seen for first time in years : NPR

TEL AVIV, Israel — The world bought a glimpse of probably the most well-known Palestinian prisoners in Israel on Friday, Marwan Barghouti, for the primary time in years.

A video posted by Israel’s far-right nationwide safety minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, exhibits him berating Barghouti in his jail cell.

“You’ll not win. He who messes with the individuals of Israel, he who will homicide our kids, he who will homicide our ladies, we are going to wipe him out,” Ben-Gvir is recorded as saying.

It was not instantly clear when the video, which has been circulating extensively in Israel and the occupied West Financial institution, was filmed.

Within the 13-second minimize of video that’s circulating, Barghouti, 66, tries to reply however is unable to interject. He’s pale, white haired, and shrunken — practically unrecognizable from the darkish, rotund man he as soon as was, when he was a wildly in style politician tipped to be the following chief of the Palestinian Authority.

Now, he’s serving 5 consecutive life sentences, after being convicted by an Israeli court docket in 2002 for serving to plan assaults on civilians throughout a Palestinian rebellion that got here to be often known as the Second Intifada.

“After I obtained the video, actually I did not acknowledge Marwan. He misplaced numerous weight and even his face shouldn’t be what we had been used to seeing,” Khader Shkirat, one in all Barghouti’s legal professionals, instructed NPR. He mentioned he needed to seek the advice of with Barghouti’s spouse to verify that the gaunt determine within the video was her imprisoned husband. 

The variety of Palestinian detainees held by Israel has roughly doubled because the lethal Oct. 7, 2023, assault by Hamas. As of August 2025, there have been round 10,700 Palestinians in Israeli custody — together with a number of thousand held with out trial — and, in lots of instances, additionally with out cost, in accordance with knowledge offered by the Israel Jail Service to Israeli human rights group, Hamoked.

“The hunger of the prisoners is identical as they’re imposing on Gaza,” Shkirat mentioned.

The figures don’t embrace the unknown variety of Palestinians from Gaza detained previously practically two years of conflict.

Moreover, 76 Palestinians have died in Israeli custody previously 22 months of conflict, in accordance with Palestinian prisoners’ organizations.

In latest prisoner exchanges of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners, Israel has refused to launch Barghouti, whose conviction and lengthy imprisonment are extensively seen amongst Palestinians as politically motivated.

Officers near ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel say Barghouti, who stays a unifying determine for a lot of Palestinians, is the prisoner the group most needs launched in hostage exchanges. The officers spoke anonymously to debate particulars of the stalled talks.

Shkirat mentioned they thought of Ben-Gvir’s feedback a menace and have appealed to the U.S., Qatar and Egypt to make sure that Barghouti is protected against assassination in Israeli detention.

He mentioned regardless of having been excluded from earlier proposed prisoner exchanges between Hamas and Israel, he believed Barghouti could be freed.

“Marwan will probably be free and main his individuals and I hope Ben-Gvir will probably be in jail,” he mentioned, referring to an arrest warrant reportedly ready by the Worldwide Felony Courtroom for the Israeli minister.

Ben-Gvir, convicted in Israel on not less than eight costs, together with supporting a terrorism group, doesn’t draw back from publicity and has a historical past of stoking outrage.

Earlier this August, he overtly recited a Jewish prayer on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a web site revered by each Muslims and Jews. After the location was captured by Israel from Jordan in a 1967 conflict, the delicate holy web site was opened to each Muslim and Jewish guests, however Jewish guests should not allowed to wish there.

Ben-Gvir’s political celebration, the Jewish Energy or Otzma Yehudit, has an anti-Arab platform which borrows ideology from two political events related to a radical, U.S.-born rabbi and which Israel has deemed terrorism organizations.

Ben-Gvir has additionally inspired Jewish settlements in defiance of worldwide legislation within the occupied West Financial institution. Since Israel’s conflict towards Hamas started in 2023, Ben-Gvir, a settler himself, has centered on settling the Gaza Strip as soon as once more and has repeatedly referred to as for Palestinians to be moved elsewhere to make room for Jewish settlements.

Aya Batrawy contributed reporting.