Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti in court. (X Screenshot)
He is widely believed to have planned the Second Intifada, which killed and wounded thousands of Israelis between 2000 and 2005.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
Fadwa Barghouti, the wife of imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, appealed directly to President Donald Trump last week to press Israel to free her husband, saying his release could help bring lasting peace to the region.
Marwan Barghouti, 66, has been held in Israeli custody since 2002. He was convicted in 2004 and is serving multiple life sentences for directing shootings and bombings during the Second Intifada.
He is widely believed to have planned the Second Intifada, which killed and wounded thousands of Israelis between 2000 and 2005.
Barghouti has denied responsibility and has sought to delegitimize the court that tried him.
Israeli officials have resisted calls for his release, and his name was reportedly removed from an early list of prisoners Hamas sought to free as part of hostage-exchange talks.
In a statement quoted by TIME, Fadwa Barghouti — a lawyer — told the president, “Mr. President, a genuine partner awaits you — one who can help fulfill the dream we share of just and lasting peace in the region.” She urged Trump to act “for the sake of freedom for the Palestinian people and peace for all future generations.”
He continues to top Palestinian opinion polls and is viewed by many Palestinians as a possible postwar leader, even as Israeli officials and some victims’ families oppose his release.
President Trump told TIME on Oct. 15 that he was “making a decision” on whether to press Israel to free Barghouti, a remark that prompted renewed appeals from Palestinian officials and some international figures. “I am literally being confronted with that question,” Trump said in the interview.
The question of Barghouti’s release has drawn support from some Western backers of negotiations. Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, told TIME he believed Barghouti could be a unifying Palestinian leader and urged the president to consider a phased approach to facilitate a two-state future.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Israel this week, said he had “nothing new to give you on this topic,” and indicated any U.S. moves would be coordinated through diplomatic channels.
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