Editing Marwan Barghouti (section)

== Political activity in prison ==

=== 2005 and 2006 Palestinian elections and disputes with Fatah ===
[[Yasser Arafat]] died in November 2004, and the Palestinian Authority called a [[2005 Palestinian presidential election|presidential election for January 2005]]. Barghouti announced from his isolation cell that he would contest the election, challenging interim-President Mahmoud Abbas, a long-time [[Fadwa Barghouti|Fadwa]] administrator of Arafat's generation. [[Fadwa Barghouti|Fadwa]] registered her husband's candidacy as an independent on 1 December.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McGreal |first=Chris |date=2004-12-02 |title=Crucial choice on path to statehood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/dec/02/israel1 |access-date=2025-03-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-06 |title=Imprisoned Palestinian Enters Presidential Race - The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/01/international/middleeast/imprisoned-palestinian-enters-presidential-race.html#selection-683.0-683.47 |access-date=2025-03-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250306120945/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/01/international/middleeast/imprisoned-palestinian-enters-presidential-race.html#selection-683.0-683.47 |archive-date=2025-03-06}}</ref>

The Israeli government came to know that two of Barghouti's closest confidantes – Fadwa and advisor Qadura Fares – privately opposed Barghouti's decision to stand, and decided to allow the two to meet with Barghouti to press their case, breaking two years in which he had been denied such contact.<ref name=":10" /> His candidacy was also criticised by Fatah leaders as a threat to the movement's unity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ellingwood |first=Ken |date=2004-12-13 |title=PLO's Barghouti Ends Candidacy for President |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-dec-13-fg-elect13-story.html |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Maureen Clare |date=2004-12-16 |title="Message received": Hatem Abdel Qader on Barghouti's presidential election withdrawal |url=https://electronicintifada.net/content/message-received-hatem-abdel-qader-barghoutis-presidential-election-withdrawal/5372 |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=The Electronic Intifada |language=en}}</ref> His campaign manager announced Barghouti's decision to withdraw from the race on 12 December. In a letter read at the announcement, Barghouti accused Fatah's leadership of having grown "old, weak and alienated" from the rank and file.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CNN.com - Jailed Barghouti quits Palestinian leadership race - Dec 12, 2004 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/12/12/Barghouti/index.html |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=CNN}}</ref> In 2016, Fares said that he believed his advice had been a mistake.<ref name=":10" />

Abbas won the election, and there has been no Palestinian presidential election since.

In 2006 Israeli media reported that MK Haim Oron had met with Barghouti in prison dozens of times, and had carried messages back and forth between Barghouti and Prime Minister [[Ehud Olmert]].<ref name=":13" /> Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also met directly with Barghouti.

=== Split from Fatah ===
[[File:בית אומר 23.4.11 001.jpg|250px|thumb|A banner in support of Marwan Barghouti at a demonstration at [[Beit Ummar]].]]
On 14 December 2005, Barghouti announced that he had formed a new political party, [[Al-Mustaqbal (electoral list)|al-Mustaqbal]] ("The Future"), mainly composed of members of Fatah's "Young Guard", who repeatedly expressed frustration with the entrenched corruption in the party. The list, which was presented to the Palestinian Authority's central elections committee on that day, included [[Mohammed Dahlan]], [[Qadura Fares]], [[Samir Mashharawi]] and [[Jibril Rajoub]].<ref name="medea" />

The split followed Barghouti's earlier refusal of [[Mahmoud Abbas]]' offer to be second on the Fatah party's parliamentary list, behind Palestinian Prime Minister [[Ahmed Qurei]]. Barghouti had actually topped the list,<ref>{{cite web |date=15 December 2005 |title=Fatah splits before key election |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4530206.stm |access-date=17 June 2024 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> but this had not become apparent until after the new party had been registered.

Reactions to the news were split. Some suggested that the move was a positive step towards peace, as Barghouti's new party could help reform major problems in Palestinian government. Others raised concern that it could wind up splitting the Fatah vote, inadvertently helping Hamas. Barghouti's supporters argued that al-Mustaqbal would split the votes of both parties, both from disenchanted Fatah members as well as moderate Hamas voters who do not agree with Hamas' political goals, but rather its social work and hard position on corruption. Some observers also hypothesized that the formation of al-Mustaqbal was mostly a negotiating tactic to get members of the Young Guard into higher positions of power within Fatah and its electoral list.

Barghouti eventually was convinced that the idea of leading a new party, especially one that was created by splitting from Fatah, would be unrealistic while he was still in prison. Instead he stood as a Fatah candidate in the January 2006 [[Palestinian Legislative Council|PLC]] elections, comfortably regaining his seat in the [[Palestinian Parliament]].

=== Prisoners' Document and other activism ===
On 11 May 2006, Palestinian leaders held in Israeli prisons released the [[Palestinian Prisoners' Document|National Conciliation Document of the Prisoners]]. The document was a proposal initiated by Marwan Barghouti and leaders of [[Hamas]], the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|PFLP]], the [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]] and the [[DFLP]] that proposed a basis upon which a coalition government should be formed in the [[Palestinian Legislative Council]]. This came as a result of the political stalemate in the [[Palestinian territories]] that followed Hamas' election to the PLC in January 2006. Crucially, the document also called for negotiation with the state of Israel in order to achieve lasting peace. The document quickly gained popular currency and is now considered the bedrock upon which a national unity government should be achieved. According to Haaretz, Barghouti, although not officially represented in the negotiations of a Palestinian unity government in February 2007, played a major role in mediating between Hamas and Fatah and formulating the compromise reached on 8 February 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824020.html|title=From behind the bars |work=Haaretz |date=9 February 2007 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070211181021/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824020.html |archive-date=11 February 2007 |first=Avi |last=Issacharoff}}</ref> In 2009, he was elected to party leadership at the Fatah Conference in Bethlehem.<ref name="haaretz1">{{cite news |title=Labor minister: Israel must consider freeing Fatah victor Barghouti |url=http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1106735.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107192330/http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1106735.html |archive-date=7 January 2010 |access-date=9 July 2010 |work=[[Haaretz]] |agency=Reuters}}</ref>

Barghouti declined to testify before an Israeli court in January 2012, but used the opportunity of his appearance to say that "an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 lines and the establishment of a Palestinian state will bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," according to Haaretz's Avi Issacharoff.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Issacharoff |first=Avi |date=2012-01-26 |title=In Rare Court Appearance, Marwan Barghouti Calls for a Peace Deal Based on 1967 Lines |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2012-01-26/ty-article/in-rare-court-appearance-marwan-barghouti-calls-for-a-peace-deal-based-on-1967-lines/0000017f-f7ad-d318-afff-f7ef277a0000 |website=Haaretz |access-date=March 23, 2025}}</ref> That March, in a letter from prison, Barghouti called for a new wave of civil resistance against the occupation, and for the Palestinian Authority to end all coordination with Israel. He wrote "Large-scale popular resistance at this stage serves the cause of our people."<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-03-27 |title=Jailed Palestinian leader Barghouti urges resistance |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17522781 |access-date=2025-03-23 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Barghouti has frequently been punished for releasing statements through internment in solitary confinement.<ref name=":18" />

In November 2014, months after more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed by Israel in the [[2014 Gaza War]], Barghouti urged the [[Palestinian Authority]] to end security cooperation with [[Israel]] and called for a [[Silent Intifada|Third Intifada]] against Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bacchi |first=Umberto |date=2014-11-11 |title=Jailed Palestinian Leader Marwan Barghouti Calls for Third Intifada Against Israel |url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/jailed-palestinian-leader-marwan-barghouti-calls-third-intifada-against-israel-1474273 |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=International Business Times UK |language=en}}</ref> In 2016, a plan for confronting the occupation, purportedly authored by Barghouti and smuggled from prison, was presented by an ally. The plans hinged on "mass disobedience" and demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people according to the Economist's ''1843'' Magazine.<ref name=":7" /> Barghouti expected that Israel would kill some of the demonstrators.

=== 2017 hunger strike and prison education programme ===
In April 2017 he organized a hunger strike of Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/hunger-strike-puts-jailed-palestinian-in-spotlight |title=Hunger strike puts jailed Palestinian in spotlight |work=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |date=21 April 2017 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> In an op-ed for ''[[The New York Times]]'', Barghouti said that the hunger strikers sought to end the "torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, and medical negligence" to which prisoners were subject.<ref name=":8">{{cite web |first=Marwan |last=Barghouti |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/16/opinion/palestinian-hunger-strike-prisoners-call-for-justice.html?_r=0 |title=Why We Are on Hunger Strike in Israel's Prisons |work=New York Times |date=16 April 2017 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> A list of demands issued by the strikers included access to telephones to communicate with their families, increased visitation rights, and a series of steps to address medical negligence.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-04-23 |title=On seventh day: Mass hunger strike continues despite escalation |url=https://www.addameer.org/news/seventh-day-mass-hunger-strike-continues-despite-escalation |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=www.addameer.org |language=en}}</ref> They also included access to books and newspapers and an end to the practices of solitary confinement and administrative detention.

On 7 May, the [[Israel Prison Service]] released videos allegedly showing Barghouti hiding in the toilet stall of his cell while eating cookies and candy, then trying to flush the wrappers. The videos were recorded on 27 April and on 5 May, a period during which almost 1,000 of Barghouti's fellow prisoners were refusing all food.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39843196 |title=Palestinian hunger strike leader Barghouti 'filmed eating' |work=BBC |date=8 May 2017 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/05/08/did-hunger-striking-palestinian-prisoner-barghouti-just-eat-some-cookies-israel-says-he-did/ |title=Did hunger striking Palestinian prisoner Barghouti just eat some cookies? Israel says he did. |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=8 May 2017 |access-date=17 June 2024}}</ref> Anonymous sources in the prison service confirmed the authenticity of the videos, saying that the food was made available to Barghouti to test his adherence to the hunger strike. Barghouti's attorney refused to respond to the videos, while his wife claimed that they had been "fabricated" to discredit him. Israeli media reported that this was not Barghouti's first time being caught secretly breaking a hunger strike, and that in 2004 he had been photographed hiding a plate after eating off it in his cell.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.787803 |title=Israel Releases Footage of Palestinian Hunger Strike Leader Barghouti Eating in His Prison Cell |work=Haaretz |date=8 May 2017 |access-date=17 June 2024 |first1=Yaniv |last1=Kubovich |first2=Jack |last2=Khoury}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4958906,00.html |title=Barghouti's wife: 'Recordings of Marwan breaking the strike are fake' |newspaper=Ynetnews |date=8 May 2017 |access-date=17 June 2024 |first=Elior |last=Levy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-05-08 |title=Prisons Official Admits: We Lured Hunger Striking Barghouti with Candy |url=https://www.jewishpress.com/news/politics/prisons-official-admits-we-lured-hunger-striking-barghouti-with-candy/2017/05/08/ |work=Jewish News Service |access-date=2024-07-08 |language=en-US}}</ref> According to Haaretz's Amos Harel, among Palestinians, the episode "only strengthened his image as a leader who is feared by Israel – which resorts to ugly tricks in order to trip him up,".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-11 |title=Israel Averts One Crisis With End of Palestinian Prisoners' Hunger St… |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2017-05-28/ty-article/.premium/israel-averts-crisis-with-end-of-hunger-strike-now-gaza-looms/0000017f-f88a-d044-adff-fbfbe8760000#selection-1205.2-1205.158 |access-date=2025-03-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240111003009/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2017-05-28/ty-article/.premium/israel-averts-crisis-with-end-of-hunger-strike-now-gaza-looms/0000017f-f88a-d044-adff-fbfbe8760000#selection-1205.2-1205.158 |archive-date=2024-01-11}}</ref> The hunger strike ended after Israel conceded a second family visit for each prisoner per month.<ref name=":5" />

Barghouti has organised a programme to provide education to his fellow prisoners. In a 2014 interview he stated:<blockquote>I teach and lecture on a variety of topics in various disciplines, including at the university level. . . There are dozens of prisoners who never had the chance to be educated at the secondary or university level and who want to pursue their education. I have been in charge of teaching them and we’ve achieved good results in both foreign language instruction and university syllabuses with the help of some of my fellow detainees.<ref name="Interview-JPS2014">{{Cite journal |date=2014 |title=INTERVIEW WITH MARWAN BARGHOUTI: Life and Politics in Prison, National Unity, and the Resistance |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jps.2014.43.4.57 |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=57–65 |doi=10.1525/jps.2014.43.4.57 |issn=0377-919X}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Subsequent activism and continued popularity ===
Barghouti intended to contest the Palestinian Presidential elections slated for 2021,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bishara |first=Marwan |title=Palestinian political prisoner Marwan Barghouti for president? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/2/23/political-prisoner-marwan-barghouti-for-president |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> but they were cancelled by President Abbas, citing Israel's refusal to permit voting in East Jerusalem.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-07 |title=Palestinian leader delays parliamentary and presidential elections, b… |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-elections-delayed-says-president-mahmoud-abbas-2021-04-29/ |access-date=2025-03-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220207215233/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-elections-delayed-says-president-mahmoud-abbas-2021-04-29/ |archive-date=2022-02-07}}</ref> Immediately prior to the cancelation, a poll suggested that Barghouti would go on to win the Presidency, with more than double Abbas's support, and significantly more than that of [[Ismail Haniyeh]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Public Opinion Poll No (79) {{!}} PCPSR |url=https://pcpsr.org/en/node/839 |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=pcpsr.org}}</ref> Barghouti remains the most popular Palestinian leader. In each of the six polls conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research between September 2023 and May 2025, Barghouti came out ahead of a Hamas candidate when Palestinians were asked who they would vote for as President in a two-way race.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |title=Press Release: Public Opinion Poll No (93) {{!}} PCPSR |url=https://www.pcpsr.org/en/node/991 |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=www.pcpsr.org}}</ref><ref name="PCPSR-May2025">{{cite web |title=Press Release: Public Opinion Poll No (95) |url=https://www.pcpsr.org/en/node/997 |website=Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research |access-date=12 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250507152506/https://www.pcpsr.org/en/node/997 |archive-date=7 May 2025 |date=6 May 2025}}</ref> There has been no Palestinian Presidential election since 2005.