The official news agency of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Wafa, reported that PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas met on Tuesday with Fadwa Barghouti, the wife of terrorist Marwan Barghouti, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, in his office in Ramallah.
According to the report, the meeting was held as part of the support for the Palestinian, Arab, and international campaign aimed at securing the release of Marwan Barghouti from Israeli prison.
Following the meeting, the PA stated that the demand for the release of "leader" Marwan Barghouti has been at the top of Abbas’s and the Fatah Movement's agenda for years.
It also stated that the institution praised "the steadfastness of senior national leader Marwan Barghouti, his determination, and his courageous national positions," and expressed appreciation for "the steadfastness of the other fighting prisoners, who are struggling for freedom and the independence of the state."
Marwan Barghouti is serving five consecutive life sentences and an additional 40 years in prison after being convicted in 2004 for his role in the murder of Israelis during the Intifada. During that period, he founded the terrorist organization Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which carried out thousands of terror attacks against Israel.
Barghouti has continued inciting to terrorism from his jail cell, but despite his convictions, he is viewed by many Palestinian Arabs as a unifying figure and potential future leader.
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.