Israeli prison personnel physically abuse a Palestinian Fatah official

On Monday, the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainee Affairs, a Palestinian prisoner rights organisation, and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club issued statements alleging that Israeli prison staff had brutally assaulted Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian political leader and member of Fatah’s Central Committee.

Marwan Barghouti’s lawyer learnt of the abuse when visiting Megiddo jail on September 9, 2024, in a solitary confinement cell. The attack injured his head, ribs, and arms, causing bleeding from his right ear and extreme agony throughout his upper body. According to the complaint, Barghouti struggled to move and developed ear infections as a result of being denied medical attention. Barghouti has already been assaulted twice in the last year and has been held in solitary confinement since the commencement of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.

According to the Israel Prison Service, Barghouti has petitioned twice since October 7 on charges of maltreatment in prison. The court considered all of his arguments and determined that IPS had not violated the law. Nonetheless, inmates and detainees have the right to register a complaint, which will be thoroughly investigated and resolved by official authorities.”

Palestinian prisoner rights groups have urged international organizations to safeguard Barghouti and other detainees in the prison. According to the NGOs, more than half of the 9,000 Palestinians arrested in Israeli prisons are the result of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7.

Israel captured Barghouti in 2002 and sentenced him to five life terms for deaths committed during the Second Intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005. He declined to participate in judicial processes because he questioned the authority of the Israeli court, but he could be part of a hostage-prisoner swap.