Marwan Barghouti will not be released in Gaza deal, says Israeli spokesperson

Prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti will not be released as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, an Israeli government spokesperson said on Thursday.

Barghouti, who is the most popular Palestinian political figure according to polls, was one of the most valuable names to potentially be traded for the 48 Israeli captives in Gaza.

"I can tell you at this point in time that he will not be part of this release," spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters.

According to the ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday night, the Israeli captives will be released in exchange for 2,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons - 1,700 of whom are men, women and children seized from Gaza and held without charge.

Barghouti has been in prison since 2004 and has been in solitary confinement since Israel's genocide in Gaza began in October 2023.

A senior figure in Fatah, the party that dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA), he was targeted by Israel due to his leading role in the 2000-2005 Second Intifada and his popularity among the public.

Opinion polls suggest that Barghouti, 66, would be a shoo-in for the Palestinian presidency if elections were held and he were able to run for office.

He is seen as a unifying figure despite identifying with Fatah, which is associated with the deeply unpopular PA.

Egypt and Qatar urged his release

In January, MEE reported that Egypt and Qatar, alongside Hamas, were using "all means available" to secure Barghouti's release as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

A source close to the negotiations told MEE that his name was one of the top figures that would be traded for Israeli captives taken on 7 October 2023 in the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Major General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, the director of Egypt's General Intelligence Services, personally interceded to push for his release, sources said.

However, a source previously told MEE that senior PA officials wanted him excluded from any exchange, fearing it could threaten the leadership of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 

In August, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited Barghouti in prison and was filmed threatening him that Israel will "obliterate" anyone who opposes it.

It was the first time that Barghouti, who appeared aged and gaunt, had been seen publicly in years.

In the video, Ben Gvir is seen telling Barghouti: "Whoever messes with the people of Israel, whoever murders our children, whoever murders our women, we will obliterate them. You will not defeat us."