-Analysis-
Will the prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, if achieved, include Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti?
The question goes beyond logistical dimensions. Barghouti’s release could open horizons for possibilities not presently available. But for exactly these reasons, his release appears difficult, as Israel is not willing to facilitate a Palestinian political unity that could lead to the two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Moreover, Tel Aviv had previously said its final word on the issue of Barghouti’s release when it agreed in a previous prisoner exchange deal in 2011 to release Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, but not Barghouti. In this sense, Israel chose war over the two-state solution.
Despite 22 years of captivity, Barghouti’s name continues to be mentioned at every moment of crisis, both in the chants of demonstrators and in the analyses of politicians and journalists, as an option to lead the Palestinian people and a potential leader to achieve peace.
Who is Marwan Barghouti?
Marwan Hasib Ibrahim Al-Barghouti, 64, hails from the village of Kobar, in Ramallah. He is a leader of the Fatah movement and one of its most prominent symbols. He joined the movement’s ranks at the age of 15, and has survived several assassination attempts.
He studied political science at Birzeit University and obtained a master’s degree in international relations. He later obtained a doctorate in political science from inside prison in 2010 from the Institute of Research and Studies of the Arab League.
He has not seen his grandchildren, but he knows the details of their lives, histories and hobbies.
Barghouti is married to lawyer Fadwa Barghouti, and they have four children: Qassam, Ruba, Sharaf and Arab. He has six grandchildren: Talia, Sarah, Rumi, Marwan (Sharaf’s siblings); Amir, and Marwan (Qassam’s sons).
When Marawan, the grandchild, was born in March this year, his grandmother Fadwa Barghouti wrote:
“When our son Qassam was born in the mid-eighties, Abu Qassam (Barghouti) was in prison, in the Beersheba isolation prison, serving an administrative sentence, and he was taking part in a hunger strike … When the news of the birth of his son Qassam reached him, he distributed a little salt to the prisoners, and he did not find anything else in his cell, to distribute it to his fellow strikers. Today, after these long years, the situation is being repeated with the birth of Qassam’s son, Little Marwan. Abu Qassam rushed to distribute sweets before going on strike with his brothers and fellow prisoners.”
She warned that the situation inside Israeli prisons would worsen, adding to the suffering of Palestinian prisoners, and Barghouti could once again distribute salt to his fellow prisoners as they continue their hunger strike.
Barghouti has not spent much time with his siblings, but he continued to raise and educate them. He has not seen his grandchildren, but he knows the details of their lives, histories and hobbies.
Most popular
Barghouti believed in negotiations as a path to achieving peace, and was a supporter of signing the Oslo Accords. But with the continued injustice of the occupation and its failure to adhere to the agreement, he emerged in the Second Intifada (the Palestinian uprising) in 2000 and became a symbol of Palestinian resistance.
Barghouti is widely popular among various factions of Palestinians. In a recent opinion poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in March 2021, it was found that Barghouti would receive 63 percent of the votes if he ran for the Palestinian presidency against the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.
“Marwan Barghouti is the most popular figure among the Palestinian public, and no one will be able to come close to him,” said Khalil al-Shaqaqi, the center’s director.
Once again, hopes have been renewed for Barghouti’s release through an exchange deal between Hamas and Israel. But the matter is not only dependent on his popularity, but rather, firstly, on Israel’s intention to release him. And this won’t happen. In 2011, he was excluded from a deal when Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Sinwar, in exchange for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. His release is also linked to American, European and Arab approval, which remains unclear.
Since Oct. 7
Many people link Barghouti’s release from prison with ending the occupation and signing a peace agreement, through his wide popularity and his relations with various Palestinian groups, including Hamas.
Barghouti was not absent from the local and international media throughout the years of his detention as the man who is capable of achieving peace. There were several attempts to release him, but all failed.
If Israel wanted a deal with the Palestinians, it would have released him from prison by now.
“If Israel wanted to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, it would have released him from prison by now,” the Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote in a 2012 editorial. “Barghouti is the most authentic leader that the Fatah movement has produced and can lead his people to an agreement.”
In mid 2023, his wife Fadwa launched an international campaign entitled “Freedom for Marwan Barghouti, Mandela of Palestine.” It held meetings with officials in Jordan, Egypt and Russia with the aim of mobilizing international pressure for his release.
Since October 7, Barghouti’s name has come up frequently in answer to the question of who will be the successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Could he be the key to resolving the Palestinian cause after the end of the war on the Gaza Strip? Is he the only one capable of uniting the Palestinian people and ending the division through his good relations with Hamas?
In a November article entitled “Marwan Barghouti, the prisoner’s hope for peace?” Swiss newspaper Le Temps wrote that in light of the prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, the attention of the Palestinians is directed to the most famous prisoner, Barghouti.
The newspaper described him as “a stubborn spokesman for the Palestinian cause and at the same time open to dialogue with Israel.”
Palestinians believe that Barghouti is capable of uniting the Palestinians and achieving reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas. Experts also view him as perhaps the only figure who is able to lead negotiations and achieve peace, but Israel will not release him because it wants neither.
Timeline of Barghouti’s life and political career
1958: Barghouti’s birth.
1976: First detention, when he was 18 years old.
1978: He began his university education, and headed the Birzeit Student Council for three consecutive years.
1987: He was one of the most prominent leaders in the First Intifada (Uprising), and was deported to Jordan.
1989: He was elected a member of the Revolutionary Council of the Fatah movement.
1994: He returned to Palestine after signing the Oslo Accords, and was unanimously elected as Secretary of the Fatah movement in the West Bank.
1996: He was elected to the Legislative Council, representing the Fatah movement, and was its youngest member.
2000: He was one of the most prominent faces of the Al-Aqsa Intifada (the second Palestinian uprising) and once again became wanted by the Israeli occupation.
2001: He survived an assassination attempt, as his convoy was bombed on Aug. 4, 2001, killing his companion, Muhannad Abu Halawa.
2002: The Israeli occupation forces detained him in Ramallah on April 15. He remains in prison.
2004: He was sentenced to five life sentences and 40 years in prison, on charges of responsibility for the killing of five Israelis, participation in four attacks and membership in a “terrorist organization.”
2006: He headed the unified Fatah list in the legislative elections and became a member of the Legislative Council while in prison.
2010: He obtained a doctorate in political science while in prison.
2016: He received the highest votes at the Seventh Fatah Movement Conference.
2021: He announced his candidacy for the presidential elections against Mahmoud Abbas, but later withdrew his candidacy under pressure from the movement.
