Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Palestinian prisoner leader Marwan Barghouti was left unconscious and sustained fractures to four ribs after being beaten during a transfer between Israeli prisons in mid-September, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Media Office.
The office, which the statement said is affiliated with Hamas, posted on its Telegram channel on Wednesday that Barghouti was assaulted while being moved from Rimon Prison to Megiddo Prison. The statement said the beating was carried out by an Israeli prison suppression unit and left the long-imprisoned Fatah leader unconscious and with multiple broken ribs.
Barghouti, one of the most prominent figures in Palestinian politics, has been a symbol of Palestinian resistance and political organization for decades. He was convicted by an Israeli court in 2004 on charges related to the Second Intifada and has been serving five life sentences in Israeli prisons since 2002. His continued imprisonment has made him a focus of both Palestinian public sentiment and international attention, and he commands significant support across large segments of the Palestinian population.
The report of his injury follows an incident last month in which Israel’s far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, entered Barghouti’s prison cell. Video footage published by Hebrew-language media in August showed Ben-Gvir confronting Barghouti and threatening him, saying, according to the clip, “Whoever kills our children or our women, we will erase him; you will not defeat us.” The cell entry and the minister’s rhetoric drew widespread attention and criticism among Palestinians and rights groups.
The recent allegation of physical abuse is likely to heighten tensions. If confirmed, the reported assault would raise fresh human rights concerns and could prompt calls for transparency and independent investigation from Palestinian political factions and international monitors. Barghouti’s status as a political prisoner and his symbolic weight mean any assault on him reverberates beyond the walls of the prison system.
The report published by the Palestinian Prisoners Media Office did not include comment from Israeli prison authorities, and the available statement attributes the account to that office’s sources. I was provided the office’s account and the references to the August cell confrontation; these are the claims made in the reports. I could not independently verify the allegations or obtain an official response from Israeli authorities in the materials supplied.
As the situation develops, confirmation from independent medical examinations, official statements from prison services, and responses from Israeli and Palestinian officials will be critical to establish the facts. Until such corroboration is available, the claims should be treated as allegations reported by the Palestinian Prisoners Media Office and relayed in local media.
