Marwan Barghouti is a Palestinian terrorist currently in jail for murdering Israelis. Polls have consistently shown that he is the most popular Palestinian and would win an election for president of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Barghouti was born in the village of Kobar in the West Bank in 1959, to a prominent Palestinian family that with several significant political figures, including his distant cousin Mustafa Barghouti. At the age of 15, he joined Fatah and co-founded its Youth Movement, and was consequently arrested by Israel three years later. During his four-year first imprisonment, Barghouthi completed his secondary education and gained fluency in Hebrew. In 1983, Barghouti enrolled at Birzeit University and gained his B.A. in History and Political Science in 1994, earning soon after an M.A. in International Relations in 1998.

Barghouti was a senior Fatah leader in the West Bank, often appearing at demonstrations, funerals, and in the Arab press. He was a field leader during the first intifada in 1987, after which Israel deported him to Jordan. He remained there for seven years until his return under the terms of the Oslo Accords in 1994. During the Second Intifada, Barghouti became increasingly popular as a leader of the Fatah armed branch, the Tanzim. Israel requested that the PA extradite Barghouti for questioning in connection with several West Bank shootings, but the PA refused. In 2002, Israel arrested him and put him on trial for his involvement in terrorist attacks against Israelis.

On May 20, 2004, the Tel Aviv District Court convicted Barghouti of three terror attacks in which five Israelis were murdered and also of attempted murder, membership in a terror organization, and conspiring to commit a crime. He was acquitted of 33 other murders with which he was charged because of a lack of evidence. On June 6, 2004, Barghouti was sentenced to five consecutive life terms and 40 years.

The court said in its verdict that Barghouti was responsible for providing the field units with money and arms…. The judges said that the attacks were sometimes based on instructions from Yasser Arafat.

The court found Barghouti responsible for a June 2001 attack in Ma’ale Adumim, in which a Greek monk was murdered, a January 2002 terror attack on a gas station in Givat Ze’ev, a March 2002 attack at Tel Aviv’s Seafood Market restaurant, in which three people were murdered, and a car bomb attack in Jerusalem.

David Saranga, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, said, The five people who were killed in these attacks that he ordered will not return to life. The widows and orphans will not get their loved ones back. But at least justice was done.

In the negotiations over the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in October 2014, Hamas insisted on including Barghouti in the deal with Israel; however, Israel was unwilling to concede to that demand. In November 2014, Barghouti urged the PA to end security cooperation with Israel immediately and called for a Third Intifada against Israel.

In April 2017 he organized a hunger strike of Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails.

Barghouti remains popular among the Palestinians. A poll conducted between May 26 and June 1, 2024, among Palestinian society, before the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, showed that support for Marwan Barghouti continued to rise. In a hypothetical presidential election between PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and Marwan Barghouti, Barghouti emerges as the preferred candidate among participants. In a two-way competition between Barghouti and Haniyeh, Barghouti also leads in support. When asked in an open-ended question to name their preferred candidate to be president of the PA after Abbas, Marwan Barghouti was the most frequently mentioned.

On August 9, 2024, reports emerged that during the ceasefire negotiations in the Israel-Hamas war, Hamas demanded Barghouti’s release as part of a hostage and prisoner exchange. Mediators, including the U.S., supported this demand. The U.S. endorses the idea of “renewed authority” over the West Bank and Gaza, aligning with Barghouti’s potential role in the region. Hamas is interested in his release to help maintain its power in Gaza, viewing Barghouti as a figure who could sustain its influence. Israel reportedly no longer opposes his release as long as he is sent to Gaza instead of the West Bank.

In 1984, Barghouthi married a fellow student, Fadwa Ibrahim, a prominent advocate for Palestinian prisoners, who later became the leading campaigner for her husband's release during his imprisonment. The couple has a daughter and three sons.

Sources: MSNBC, (December 6, 2001). Assaf Bergerfreund, “Barghouti Found Guilty of 5 Murders,” Haaretz, (May. 21, 2004).
Umberto Bacchi, “Jailed Palestinian Leader Marwan Barghouti Calls for Third Intifada Against Israel,”. International Business Times, (November 11, 2014).
Rachel Fink, “Who Is Marwan Barghouti – Jailed Terrorist or Palestinian Mandela? And Why Does Hamas Want Him Released?,” Haaretz, (February 5, 2024).
“Public Opinion Poll No (92),” Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), (July 10, 2024).
“Hamas demands release of Marwan Barghouti in hostage deal,” Jerusalem Post, (August 9, 2024).

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