The Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office has reported that Marwan Barghouti, one of the most prominent Palestinian political leaders imprisoned by Israel, was brutally assaulted by Israeli prison guards during a transfer between detention facilities last month, sustaining multiple injuries, including four fractured ribs.

According to the office, the assault took place in mid-September while Barghouti was being transferred from Ramon Prison in southern Israel to Megiddo Prison in the north. The statement said Israeli guards beat him savagely, causing him to lose consciousness before he was moved to his new cell.

Barghouti, 66, a senior member of the Fatah movement and a widely respected figure across Palestinian society, has been imprisoned since 2002 after being convicted by an Israeli court on charges stemming from the Second Intifada—a period of intense Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation that began in 2000. He is serving five life sentences imposed by Israel in a trial condemned by human rights groups as politically motivated and legally flawed.

Marwan Barghouti has long been regarded as a symbol of steadfastness and unity within the Palestinian national movement. His name is often chanted at rallies in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and he is seen by many Palestinians as a potential national leader capable of bridging the political divide between Fatah and Hamas.

The Hamas-run Prisoners’ Media Office condemned the latest assault, calling it “a dangerous escalation” that reflects Israel’s “systematic policy of abuse and humiliation” against Palestinian detainees. It demanded international intervention to ensure Barghouti’s safety and to hold Israel accountable for ongoing violations against thousands of Palestinians held in its jails.

“What happened to Marwan Barghouti is not an isolated act, but part of a continuous pattern of Israeli brutality targeting our prisoners — men, women, and children alike,” the statement said.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned about inhumane conditions inside Israeli prisons, especially since October 2023, when Israel intensified its aggression against the Gaza Strip and cracked down on Palestinian detainees across the occupied territories.

Since the start of the Gaza war, reports have documented widespread torture, beatings, and deprivation of basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care in Israeli detention centers.

The assault on Barghouti has reignited calls for international monitoring of Israeli prisons and accountability for violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the torture and mistreatment of prisoners under occupation.

The assault on Barghouti comes amid a fragile ceasefire following a US-brokered plan announced by President Donald Trump in late September. The first phase of the deal, implemented on October 11, calls for a temporary truce and the exchange of captives and prisoners between Israel and Palestinian factions.

However, Israel’s military continues to carry out raids and bombardments across the Gaza Strip despite the declared ceasefire. According to Palestinian authorities, nearly 68,000 Palestinians—most of them women and children—have been killed since the start of Israel’s assault in October 2023, rendering much of the enclave uninhabitable.

Palestinian resistance groups, civil society organizations, and prisoner rights advocates have called for the immediate release of Marwan Barghouti and all Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons, many of whom are being detained without charge or trial under Israel’s notorious administrative detention system.

“Marwan Barghouti’s suffering reflects the suffering of the entire Palestinian people under occupation,” said a spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society. “His resilience embodies the spirit of resistance that Israel has failed to crush for decades.”

Barghouti’s continued imprisonment—and now, the violent assault against him—has once again brought attention to the systemic abuse of Palestinian prisoners and the urgent need for international pressure to end Israel’s policies of occupation, imprisonment, and collective punishment. (ILKHA)