Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian who could win an election from prison
Last October, Donald Trump said he was considering asking Israel for the release of Marwan Barghouti, the most popular Palestinian to succeed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Barghouti has been imprisoned for the last 24 years of his life, convicted by a military court for ordering the deaths of five Israelis during the Second Intifada. All these years in prison have only increased his popularity, even though he has spent most of his time in isolation. In the last prisoner exchange, just a few months ago, Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out his release because he considers him too great a symbol with a future on the Palestinian political scene.
Barghouti's continued imprisonment proves that Israel, and Prime Minister Netanyahu in particular, has no intention of negotiating a political solution to the conflict, which would involve ending the occupation of the West Bank. In fact, Barghouti, 67, has always shown himself to be interested in peace in exchange for a complete withdrawal from the occupied territories, a solution that Israel flatly rejects.
An Israeli lawyer who strangely had the opportunity to visit him on April 12 has denounced the extreme conditions of his confinement. According to the lawyer, Barghouti suffered physical attacks from prison service guards on March 24 and 25 and April 8, a situation that is repeated continuously and is often denounced by Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups.
Mahmoud Abbas's attitude towards the most popular prisoner is ambiguous. He claims to be doing everything possible to achieve his release, but the reality is that many Palestinians see Abbas as the number one collaborator in the service of Israel. This is a widespread opinion and probably also explains, at least in part, why Abbas has had no interest in calling presidential elections for more than two decades.
Win an election from prison?
Barghouti has indicated his desire to run in the upcoming presidential elections, even though Israel will not let him leave prison. The polls published so far say that Barghouti would easily win, even if Abbas ran. But the current president of the Palestinian Authority, who is 90 years old, has said he does not intend to run.
Barghouti was arrested when he was clandestinely leading the militias of Fatah, Yasser Arafat's party. The militias began to become active at the beginning of this century with Arafat's approval. It was then clear that Israel did not want peace and continued to expand its military and civilian presence throughout the West Bank. This is precisely what sparked the resistance of the second intifada in the year 2000.
The most probable hypothetical situation is that Barghouti wins the next presidential elections from prison and that Israel refuses to release him. This would create a situation of great instability for which Israel is preparing. Netanyahu has given the green light to Jewish settlers who daily attack Palestinian civilians and their properties, while soldiers and police allow it and even encourage it. As colonial expansion extends every day, it seems impossible for Netanyahu to let Barghouti out of prison, at least while he is prime minister.