Newsletters
Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited senior Fatah leader and prisoner Marwan Barghouti in “Ganot” prison, where he directly threatened to kill him, Israel’s Channel 7 reported.
“Anyone who kills our children or our women will be wiped out… You will not defeat us,” he reportedly said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the video was "disturbing," Al Jazeera reported.
The visit provoked strong Palestinian outrage. Raed Abu al-Hummus, head of the Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, held Ben-Gvir fully accountable for Barghouti’s safety.
He said that “Ben-Gvir’s remarks amount to an open threat and a crossing of all red lines,” calling on the Palestinian people to stand in solidarity with Barghouti and urging the international community to take immediate action to ensure his protection.
Marwan Barghouti is regarded as the most popular political leader in Palestine. He has spent the past 23 years in prison following a trial that drew widespread criticism for violating international law.
Barghouti is one of the leading figures of the Fatah movement.
He was arrested by Israel in April 2002 and sentenced to five life terms plus 40 years for his alleged responsibility in attacks carried out by armed groups affiliated with the movement.
He remains in solitary confinement amid Palestinian and international calls for his release.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office described the footage as “a scene revealing a mindset of revenge.”
This is not the first time Ben-Gvir has stirred controversy with his actions. Since assuming his position in late 2022, conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have deteriorated sharply.
Especially following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, as Ben-Gvir has since implemented a policy of restrictions on Palestinian detainees.
Israeli authorities denied prisoners access to hot water, cleaning supplies, and clothing, restricted bathroom visits to just one hour per day, and banned them from exercising.
The situation of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has already worsened, and I am proud of that,” said an Israeli minister, boasting about punishing Palestinian detainees and worsening their conditions.
International, Palestinian, and Israeli reports have highlighted a severe deterioration in the conditions of thousands of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, due to the new policies imposed by Ben-Gvir in his capacity as National Security Minister
The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway have all imposed sanctions on him over his repeated incitement to violence.
The Israeli Prison Service estimated that over 9,600 Palestinian prisoners are being held in Israeli jails.
On July 17, Ben-Gvir boasted about starving Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails during his visit to the Supreme Court to attend a hearing on a petition filed by the civil rights group Citizens’ Rights Association regarding the living and detention conditions of Palestinian detainees.
Fadwa Barghouti, Barghouti’s wife, commented in a post on her Facebook page, “It’s true, I didn’t recognize you, nor did I recognize your features, and perhaps part of me refuses to acknowledge everything your face and body express and all that you and the prisoners have endured.”
Family members said they were concerned by how gaunt and tired the 66-year-old, much-loved leader looks. Barghouti has been dubbed the Palestinian Nelson Mandela.
The expert in Israeli affairs, Yasser Manaa, posed the question, “Why did Ben-Gvir go to Marwan?” He attempted to answer, noting that multiple interpretations have been offered regarding the video showing Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, inside the cell of prisoner Marwan Barghouti.
“But the core question remains: what recent developments might explain this scene?”
Speaking to an Arab media outlet, Manaa suggested that the visit sends a deliberate message rather than supporting any prisoner exchange. The visit, captured in a leaked video, shows Barghouti frail in solitary confinement—projecting a stark image intended to stick in public memory and signal Israel’s broader power.
He pointed out that only weeks ago, footage of a prisoner in Gaza—emaciated, exhausted, and visibly weakened—sparked public opinion in Israel and resonated within government circles, despite official silence.
Manaa stressed that Ben-Gvir’s response came in the form of another deliberately leaked video: “It shows Abu al-Qassam, frail and depleted in solitary confinement, facing threats and the specter of death.”
“The message was to cement this unusual image in the collective memory, despite Barghouti’s current stature and his potential to play a pivotal political role in the future,” he added.
According to Manaa, Ben-Gvir’s accompanying remarks further reinforced the symbolic dimensions Israel seeks to project through this war.
Political science researcher Subaih Subaih said the video is part of a systematic campaign to undermine the image of Palestinian prisoners, citing pressures on families, cuts to stipends, and abuses aimed at breaking detainees physically and symbolically.
“Marwan is our collective image—just like the queues for aid in Gaza. We must not let them break us,” he stressed.
Israeli affairs expert Mohammed Allan Duraqmeh argued that Ben-Gvir seeks to project a false image of victory to the far-right, noting his threats were meant to signal that even freed prisoners like Barghouti would not be safe and their release would not count as a victory.
6 min read
