Marwan Barghouti, a well-known Palestinian prisoner, was attacked three times in a month, according to his family.

 

Polls indicate Marwan Barghouti is the most popular Palestinian leader despite his imprisonment(Image:AFP)

Marwan Barghouti, the most prominent Palestinian prisoner, has reportedly been physically abused once more while incarcerated in Israel, according to his family. Arab Barghouti stated to the BBC that he was "shocked and appalled" to learn from the Israeli lawyer for his father that he had been raped three times by Israeli prison guards within the past month. The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) said that "the allegations made are false and baseless".

 Marwan Barghouti is currently serving five life sentences plus 40 years after being found guilty by an Israeli court of planning deadly attacks on Israeli civilians. He was arrested exactly 24 years ago, at the height of the Palestinians' second intifada, or uprising.  He had set up the Tanzim, an armed wing of the Fatah political faction.

 According to polls, Barghouti is the most popular Palestinian leader despite his imprisonment. He continues to be a Fatah Central Committee member. The 66-year-old Palestinian is compared to South Africa's Nelson Mandela by many Palestinians because of his ability to unite different political factions and his previous rapport with Israeli leaders. Arab Barghouti argued that the prominence of his father had resulted in him being targeted for attacks and abuse.

He stated, "He's someone who represents hope for unity, for the renewal of democracy, for a better future for the Palestinian people." "He's a target because he gives the Palestinian people hope," says the author.

On Sunday, Ben Marmarelli, an Israeli lawyer, paid Marwan Barghouti a visit in prison. He wrote on X that, three weeks earlier, guards entered his client's cell in Megiddo Prison and repeatedly attacked him with a guard dog.  He said that he was then beaten during his transfer to another Israeli jail.

 Marmarelli stated that Barghouti was "severely beaten and left bleeding for more than two hours" a week ago in Ganot Prison. He requested treatment, but was turned down." According to the IPS, "not aware of any incidents as described, and to the best of our knowledge, no such acts have occurred in its facilities" were the organization's assertions. "All inmates receive medical treatment in accordance with the professional judgement of medical officials and subject to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health," it wrote in a statement.

 Since the deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the Gaza war, UN agencies and Israeli rights groups have reported an increase in claims of abuse of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including routine beatings, sexual violence, starvation and severe medical negligence.  As a result, dozens of Palestinians are said to have died in detention.

Human rights groups attribute this to a well-established Israeli policy, pointing to the fact that a number of Israeli officials, including the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have advocated for harsher conditions. Last year, the United Nations Committee against Torture said it was deeply concerned about reports indicating a "de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture and ill treatment" of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

 The IPS denies claims of systematic abuse and states that incidents of individual misconduct are investigated.

 In September, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that Israeli prisons were not providing Palestinian prisoners with enough food and ordered that the conditions be improved. There are currently 9,560 Palestinians held in jail whom Israel classes as security prisoners, according to IPS figures.  They include more than 3,500 in administrative detention without trial or charge.

 It is believed that Marwan Barghouti has been held in solitary confinement for the past two and a half years. His family claims that Israeli guards have previously beaten him severely, breaking four ribs and injuring his head once. Ben-Gvir posted a brief video of him confronting Marwan Barghouti in his cell last year on social media. It was the first time that the famous prisoner had been seen publicly in years, and he appeared aged and gaunt.

Source: BBC