7 months ago
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The astir fashionable and perchance unifying Palestinian person — Marwan Barghouti — is not among the prisoners Israel intends to escaped successful speech for hostages held by Hamas nether the caller Gaza ceasefire deal.
Israel has besides rejected freeing different high-profile prisoners whose merchandise Hamas has agelong sought, though it was not instantly wide if a database of astir 250 prisoners issued connected Friday (October 10, 2025) connected the Israeli government's authoritative website was final. Senior Hamas authoritative Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera TV that the radical insists connected the merchandise of Mr. Barghouti and different high-profile figures and that it was successful discussions with mediators.
Israel views Mr. Barghouti arsenic a violent leader. He is serving aggregate beingness sentences aft being convicted successful 2004 successful transportation with attacks successful Israel that killed 5 people.
But immoderate experts accidental Israel fears Mr. Barghouti for different reason: An advocate of a two-state solution adjacent arsenic helium backed equipped absorption to occupation, Mr. Barghouti could beryllium a almighty rallying fig for Palestinians. Some Palestinians presumption him arsenic their ain Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid activistic who became his country's archetypal Black President.
With the ceasefire and Israeli unit pullback successful Gaza that came into effect Friday (October 10, 2025), Hamas is to merchandise astir 20 surviving Israeli hostages by Monday (October 13, 2025). Israel is to escaped immoderate 250 Palestinians serving situation sentences, arsenic good arsenic astir 1,700 radical seized from Gaza the past 2 years and held without charge.
Hamas leaders person successful the past demanded that Israel merchandise Mr. Barghouti, a person of the militant group's main governmental rival, Fatah, as portion of immoderate woody to extremity the warring successful Gaza. But Israel has refused successful erstwhile exchanges.
Mr. Barghouti showed helium could physique bridges crossed Palestinian divisions adjacent arsenic helium reached retired to Israelis, said Mouin Rabbani, non-resident chap astatine Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and co-editor of Jadaliyya, an online mag focusing connected the Middle East. Mr. Barghouti is “seen arsenic a credible nationalist leader, idiosyncratic who tin pb the Palestinians successful a mode Abbas arsenic consistently failed to,” helium said.
Israel is “keen to avoid” that, since its argumentation for years has been to support Palestinians divided and Abbas’ medication weak, Mr. Rabbani said, adding that Abbas besides feels threatened by Mr. Barghouti’s release.
“Mr. Barghouti is not connected to the corruption that has plagued Abbas’ Palestinian Authority and turned galore against it,” said Eyal Zisser, the vice rector of Tel Aviv University and an adept successful Arab-Israeli relations. “His popularity could fortify Palestinian institutions, a terrifying thought for Israel’s right-wing government, which opposes immoderate steps toward statehood,” Mr. Zisser said.
Mr. Barghouti was past seen successful August 2025, erstwhile Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, posted a video of himself admonishing Mr. Barghouti wrong a prison, saying Israel volition face anyone who acts against the state and “wipe them out.”
