An Israeli prison guard wounded Fatah movement leader Marwan Barghouti with a rubber bullet inside his cell, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said Tuesday, citing his wife, Fadwa Barghouti. The office held the occupation authorities fully responsible for his safety and demanded an international investigation into the incident.
In a statement, the office added that the guard had shot Barghouti in the leg “at point-blank range,” causing injuries and bleeding, noting that his family learned of the incident during their most recent prison visit.
According to the statement, Fadwa Barghouti said the assault coincided with the Israel Prison Service issuing an “inciting” report against her husband. She added that this comes amid a growing international campaign demanding his release, asserting that such measures aim to “undermine his standing and national symbolism.”
The Prisoners’ Media Office condemned the attack on Barghouti, placing it within a broader policy targeting the leadership of the captive movement and Palestinian prisoners. The office held Israeli authorities responsible for his life and the well-being of all other detainees.
The office urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations, and human rights organizations to intervene to secure protection for prisoners and pressure Israel to cease its violations inside its prisons.
On Sunday, the Arab League called for the formation of an international committee to investigate repeated assaults against Barghouti. The regional body demanded an end to all forms of systematic torture against him and other detainees, while calling for an independent medical evaluation, demanding that authorities transfer him to a hospital outside the prison system, and urging his immediate release.
According to statements by the Prisoners’ Media Office on Monday, guards have repeatedly assaulted Barghouti in prison since the onset of the Israeli genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
The most recent of these incidents occurred approximately two months ago, when a stun grenade thrown into his cell burned his hand, according to the Secretariat-General of the Arab League.
Israel has held Barghouti in solitary confinement at Janut prison since November 2023, following his transfer between several sections, according to his family and prisoner rights’ organizations.
Israel has also reneged on moves to release Barghouti as part of the hostage-detainee swap deal in the latest ceasefire.
Born in 1959, many regard Barghouti as one of the Fatah movement’s most prominent leaders. He is serving five life sentences plus 40 years, after an Israeli court convicted him in 2004 over his alleged responsibility for executing operations during the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
