RIYADH: The recent taunting on camera of Marwan Barghouti, the prominent Palestinian political prisoner, by a far-right Israeli minister has been described by his son as reflective of the Palestinian people’s suffering and the oppression they have been through.
“I think that it’s a representation of what the Israeli government has become,” Arab Marwan Barghouti, Marwan’s eldest son, said in the latest episode of “Frankly Speaking,” the weekly current affairs program of Arab News.
“We’ve always thought that there is a ceiling toward the amount of desperation that they’re going to get to. But I don’t think that there is a ceiling … they are getting the green light from all Western governments to do whatever they want.
Arab was commenting on a viral clip showing Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, walking into the cell of his father and berating him, saying: “You will not win.” The edited clip did not show Marwan’s response to Ben-Gvir’s taunting.
Arab was commenting on a viral clip showing Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, walking into the cell of his father and berating him. (Screenshot)
For the first time in decades, the world saw moving pictures of a man many Palestinians regard as their most legitimate and unifying figure. For Arab, the moment was both painful and symbolic.
The clip, shared by Ben-Gvir’s supporters on X, showed the physical toll of more than two decades behind bars. Marwan, 66, has been imprisoned since 2002 after being convicted by an Israeli court of planning attacks that led to five civilians being killed. He is serving five life sentences plus 40 years.
Arab said the scene captured not just one man’s suffering but the wider relationship between occupier and occupied. “Someone like Ben-Gvir is the one who should be in prison. He’s a fascist, he’s a convicted terrorist and he’s calling for the genocide of the Palestinian people,” he told “Frankly Speaking” host Katie Jensen.
“But I can tell you that this is the normal relationship between an oppressed and oppressor.
“And I think that this picture will go down in history as a representation of the oppression that the Palestinian people have been through. And I think that there is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed of as his son. I think that my father stood tall against oppression, as always, representing the whole of the Palestinian people.”
Marwan’s humiliating treatment by Ben-Gvir, not to mention his aged and gaunt appearance in the footage, garnered global condemnation and reinforced previous criticism of Israel’s alleged maltreatment of prisoners.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, some 17,000 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli authorities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between Oct. 7, 2023, and May this year.
Some 10,400 were being detained in Israeli jails as of June 8, according to the Israeli rights organization HaMoked. Meanwhile, 3,562 were under so-called administrative detention, held indefinitely without charge.
Among those arrested between Oct. 7, 2023 and January this year were 1,055 children, of which 440 remain in jail. Thousands more detainees have been rounded up in Gaza and taken to Israeli prisons, with limited information given to families about their condition or whereabouts.
Reacting to the Ben-Gvir video, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: “The video is troubling. We are aware of it. It is important to remind that prisoners should be treated in accordance with international law, respecting their inherent dignity.”
For the Barghouti family, the viral footage was devastating, Arab told Frankly Speaking. (AN Photo)
On Aug. 19, the UN Human Rights Office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said the footage was unacceptable, adding: “The minister’s behavior and the publication of the footage constitute an attack on Marwan’s dignity.”
Raed Abu Al-Homs, head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission, expressed deep concern for Marwan’s life. In a statement, he said: “The language and arguments (Ben-Gvir) used, in both substance and tone, are a dangerous indication of the intentions harbored by this notorious racist.”
He also urged “all international bodies to take immediate action to provide protection for this leader, who represents a unifying national symbol for the Palestinian people.”
The PA’s ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, condemned Ben-Gvir’s act as “racist and fascistic hate, and a deplorable and immoral behavior that violates international law, which prohibits such heinous acts in dealing with prisoners and detainees.”
For the Barghouti family, the footage was devastating. “Not easy,” Arab said of his mother Fadwa’s reaction. “I don’t think it’s easy for us to take minutes to be able to recognize my father’s face.
“The whole family hasn’t seen my father in more than two-and-a-half years, since before (the Hamas-led attack of) Oct. 7 (2023). And it’s not easy. He’s been losing weight. He’s been assaulted multiple times in prison. You can see how his body is getting weaker.
“But I think that we always remind ourselves that my father’s fate is always linked with the Palestinian people’s fate. If they’re being starved, he’s being starved. If they’re being assaulted, he’s being assaulted. And that’s a path that he’s chosen.
“I think the sad part is to see his six grandchildren that he’s never met before, looking at him and asking so many questions that this is not our grandfather that we’ve always known. But I think that’s a representation of the Palestinian suffering. And we represent thousands of Palestinian families that are going through the same pain at the moment.”
The family’s access has long been severely restricted. “The last time my mother saw him was two and a half years ago and I haven’t seen him in three years,” said Arab.
“And after turning 16 (when Palestinians qualify as adults under Israeli criminal law), I would see him once every two to three years. So this is the norm actually.”
Since the Gaza war began, even those rare contacts have disappeared. “After Oct. 7, everything changed,” said Arab. “There’s no way of communication. The only way is the lawyer, and the lawyer has only been able to see him a handful of times.”
According to Arab, his father has been held in solitary confinement since Oct. 7, and regularly assaulted — an experience that many freed detainees say they have endured.
“If you talk to any Palestinian political prisoner who has been released in the last few months, you will understand the amount of torture that they go through regularly, every single day,” he said.
“And this is why we have lost already, since Oct. 7, more than 76 Palestinian detainees. And that’s only the documented cases.”
Arab said his father continues to believe in the two-state solution, even though many young Palestinians increasingly see it as a dead end. (AN Photo)
Once a leading figure in the West Bank’s ruling Fatah party and an elected lawmaker, Marwan remains the most popular Palestinian political figure, with polls consistently showing him far ahead of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leaders despite his long absence.
“I think it can be explained by mentioning what he is,” said Arab. “He is a unifying figure and that’s the main point that Palestinians appreciate him for.
“The other thing is that he is someone who is willing to sacrifice for his people. The first statement when he went to prison, he said that if the price of my people’s freedom is my own freedom, I’m willing to pay that price. And he is paying that price.
“The other thing is that I think he has a political vision that is accepted by all the Palestinian people. And that’s why in 2006, his biggest political achievement was bringing all Palestinian factions into one umbrella and one document, the Prisoners’ Document.
“It (called for the) establishment of a Palestinian state (based on) the ‘67 borders, the targeting of civilians is forbidden, the resistance should be limited to within the ‘67 borders as well. And he put all these points in one document that even Hamas, Islamic Jihad and all Palestinian political factions signed on.
“And this is something that we Palestinians appreciate, because we are hungry for unity and we’ve been divided for too long and (are) paying the price for that.”
Arab said his father continues to believe in the two-state solution, even though many young Palestinians increasingly see it as a dead end.
“He is a supporter of the two-state solution, but he’s not delusional. He understands that it’s going to be very, very hard to do, but it’s the only viable solution at the moment. It’s the only acceptable solution even by the international community.
“Our problem is not with the solution itself. Our problem is with committing to whatever we agree on.”
Arab firmly rejected the notion that Palestinian leaders had squandered earlier opportunities for peace. Responding to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s claim on “Frankly Speaking” last week that the PA turned down a “generous offer” during his term in office, Arab argued that this framing has long been part of what he called a “manipulative” Israeli narrative.
He traced the roots of this narrative back to 1947, when Palestinians were offered 45 percent of the land under the UN partition plan despite, he said, owning more than 90 percent. “That’s, of course, not something that any people are willing to accept,” he said.
“Then they got 78 percent of the land, and then they completed the whole land in ‘67. And then in ‘93, they came in and they said, okay, we’ll give you the 22 percent, but we’re going to divide them between A, B and C areas. And C areas represent 62 percent of the West Bank. It’s all manipulative.”
For Arab, this history undermines the claim that Palestinians have simply refused peace. Instead, he sees a steady pattern of shrinking territorial rights and shifting goalposts, leaving Palestinians in a weaker position with each negotiation cycle.
What was described as an “offer,” he said, was always conditional and structured in a way that entrenched Israeli power rather than advanced Palestinian sovereignty.
Reports have long suggested that elements within the PA fear Marwan’s release would threaten the position of Abbas and his inner circle, leading to claims in some quarters that the PA has asked Israel not to free him. Arab dismissed the speculation.
Reports have long suggested that some fear Marwan’s release would threaten the position of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (pictured), but Arab dismissed the speculation. (AFP/File Photo)
“I think he’s a unifying figure not only for the Palestinian people, but also for Fatah,” he said. “If you ask my father, he is a proud Fatah member. He is a member of the Central Committee of Fatah. He was voted, first, by far the highest votes inside Fatah, not outside Fatah only. He’s a parliament member.
“So, I think with his credibility, with his resume, he can bring people together. He’s not someone who is going to destabilize the Palestinian politics. He’s never been interested in that.
“And even when it comes to the PA leadership and Fatah leadership, he’s more interested in bringing people together, rather than to bring more divisions. So, it won’t be something done in a chaotic way.
“It will be organized and have positive dialogues and discussions internally until we get to a point where Fatah is stronger. And I think a strong Fatah means a stronger Palestinian cause and a stronger representation of the Palestinian people.”
While his father is widely seen as a potential unifier of rival factions, Arab himself is cautious about stepping into political life. He has become an articulate advocate on international platforms, but he insists his ambitions are different.
“I don’t think so,” he said when asked about a political career. “My personal dream is to live in a Palestine that has children not worried about their future. Children living in safety and security.”
Instead, he spoke of wanting a normal life — one where his father could finally meet his six grandchildren and keep the promise he made to Arab’s mother four decades ago: that when Palestine is free, the family would live not as symbols of resistance, but as ordinary people.
Asked what his father would do if freed, Arab said: “I think he has a political vision that is accepted by the Palestinian factions and his political vision is based on establishing a sovereign, independent Palestinian state that secures freedom and living with dignity for all Palestinians. And that’s something that we all agree on.
“And the interesting thing is that it’s not only accepted by Palestinian factions, but also by the international community itself. The whole international community nowadays is calling for the two-state solution.
“Here is a leader who is the most popular leader in Palestine and speaks of what the international community accepts. But that’s why we need the help of the international community and especially the regional powers like the Saudis, the Emiratis and Qataris, Egyptians, Jordanians. We need their help to make sure that we have that in reality.”
