Arab Barghouti, son of jailed archterrorist Marwan Barghouti, called on US President Donald Trump to “seize the opportunity” created by the Gaza ceasefire to secure his father’s release and revive the two-state solution.
Speaking to AFP in Ramallah, Arab Barghouti described his father as “capable” and “a partner for peace,” adding, “He’s capable and has the track record to unify the Palestinian people.”
He urged Trump to pressure Israel, saying, “Someone like him represents a great opportunity for the international community to prove that they are serious about supporting the two-state solution.”
Barghouti, 66, has been serving multiple life sentences since 2002 for orchestrating murderous attacks against Israelis.
He is widely believed to have planned the Second Intifada, which claimed thousands of Israeli lives from 2000 to 2005. Barghouti has continued inciting to terrorism from his jail cell.
Despite his convictions, he is viewed by many Palestinian Arabs as a unifying figure and potential future leader.
Arab Barghouti’s appeal follows similar calls from his mother, Fadwa, earlier this month. Trump told Time magazine on October 15 that he would be “making a decision” on the matter, though no timeline was given.
Despite not speaking to his father in three years, Arab Barghouti said, “Knowing my father, I know that he will be playing an active role in stopping the suffering, the rebuilding of Gaza, helping the Palestinian people overall, because that's been his life mission.”
He concluded by acknowledging internal Palestinian Arab challenges: “We have corruption issues that we need to address as Palestinians, and we need to be brave enough to look in the mirror and to take responsibility for our mistakes.”
Barghouti is a senior member of Fatah and longtime rival of Hamas. He was reportedly among the terrorist prisoners Hamas sought to have released as part of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal, but was removed from the list at Israel’s insistence.