Top Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti, who has been held in Israeli custody since 2004, has been violently assaulted three separate times by Israeli prison guards over the course of one month, according to claims from his legal team and a regional prisoner advocacy campaign. The alleged attacks, which advocates describe as targeted, brutal abuse, have taken place as Barghouti is held in solitary confinement across multiple Israeli correctional facilities, raising urgent alarms over the treatment of high-profile Palestinian detainees amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
The campaign advocating for Barghouti’s release released a public statement Tuesday detailing the allegations, confirming the assaults occurred during his solitary detainment at Megiddo Prison in northern Israel and Ramon Prison in the country’s south. The group claims Barghouti was tortured through repeated beatings and the use of repressive restraint tactics, leaving him with multiple lacerations and widespread bleeding across his body that has gone entirely untreated by prison medical staff. The campaign added that the attacks against the 66-year-old leader are part of a broader, systematic crackdown that began when Israel launched its large-scale military campaign in Gaza in October 2023.
Israeli human rights attorney Ben Marmarelli, who conducted a legal visit with Barghouti on Sunday, publicly outlined the full timeline of alleged abuse in a detailed post on the social platform X, calling the ongoing treatment “deeply alarming.” Per Marmarelli’s account, the first assault took place on March 24, when guards entered Barghouti’s solitary cell accompanied by a attack dog, forced the prisoner to the ground, and directed the dog to attack him on multiple occasions. The following day, as Barghouti was transferred between Megiddo Prison and Ganot Prison, a second assault occurred during the movement process.
The most severe alleged attack took place on April 8, when guards beat Barghouti severely inside his cell at Ganot Prison, leaving him bleeding for more than two hours before he could access any care. When legal representatives submitted a formal request for urgent medical attention following the beating, prison authorities denied the application entirely.
“These are not isolated incidents. They form a clear pattern of escalating abuse: violence, medical neglect, and treatment that places him at immediate risk,” Marmarelli wrote in his social media post. The attorney also documented the harsh, restrictive conditions imposed during his recent legal meeting with Barghouti, noting that the pair was forced to shout through a thick glass partition to communicate after prison authorities failed to repair the broken meeting room phone. “This is what a legal visit looks like today: basic conditions denied, communication obstructed, and even the most elementary human and professional standards ignored,” he added.
Despite the degrading and dangerous conditions of his detainment, Marmarelli confirmed that Barghouti remains mentally alert and closely engaged with political developments across the region. “He had a great deal to say. Above all, he wanted to know more about his family and the Palestinian people, what is happening in Palestinian and Israeli scene. I tried to tell him everything I know,” Marmarelli said.
Barghouti, a senior leader of the Fatah political party, has been in Israeli custody since 2002, with his conviction finalized in 2004. Israeli authorities targeted him over his prominent leadership role during the 2000–2005 Second Intifada, and he was ultimately convicted on charges linked to attacks that killed five Israelis. He is currently serving five consecutive life sentences plus an additional 40 years of incarceration. Throughout his trial, Barghouti refused to present a defense, stating publicly that he did not recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli court to hear his case.
Public opinion polls conducted across Palestinian territories have consistently shown that Barghouti would win the Palestinian presidency by a clear margin if national elections were held and he was allowed to run as a candidate. Widely regarded as one of the only remaining Palestinian political figures capable of unifying fragmented factions across the territory, he retains broad public support even as the Palestinian Authority, Fatah’s governing body, suffers from widespread unpopularity among Palestinian residents.
Barghouti has been held in continuous solitary confinement for years, but reports confirm that abusive treatment against him and other high-profile Palestinian detainees has intensified dramatically since October 2023, when Israel launched its current military operation in Gaza.