Marwan Barghouti with children
While the Palestinians await Hamas’s response to Donald Trump’s new plan for Gaza that includes the end of Hamas, “Palestinian Mandela” watches everything behind bars. Who is Marwan Barghouti and who can lead Palestinians?
Since the White House released, on September 29, the hypotheses of finishing Israel’s war against Gaza are higher than ever. If successful, creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel It will also be on the table for the first time in decades.
The Palestinians were notoriously excluded from the preparation of the plan, and there are no measures to hold Israel responsible for the destruction it caused. But the 20 -point plan includes clauses that could eventually lead to Palestinian self -determination.
Under the Plan, Palestinians may remain in Gaza and an amnesty will be granted to militants who commit to peaceful coexistence after the signing of the agreement. Israel undertakes not to occupy or attach Gaza. The plan also recognizes aspiration of the Palestinian people to self -determination and the creation of a state, and states that this path can be achievable under certain conditions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supported the plan. However, in the return to Israel, he said that the creation of a Palestinian state is not foreseen in the agreement and that Israel will “resist force” to its realization. The US President’s agreement will have to be approved in a vote on Netanyahu’s office.
Whether the next steps are a ceasefire or the continuation of Gaza’s destruction, which has become clear is that time is running out for Hamas as ruler of the Palestinian people in Gaza. This raises the question: Who could take over the reins of the Palestinian government?
The obvious answer is the Palestinian Authorida (AP), which leads the Palestinians in the West Bank. The AP was created by Oslo’s agreements to manage the West Bank and Gaza. Since 2005, it has been led by Mahmoud Abbasfrom Fatah. In 2007, a Brief Civil War between Fatah and Hamas left Hamas in power In Gaza, creating a deep division between the two parties and the Palestinian people.
Although AP argues that it must be the only governance authority in Gaza, Fatah and Abbas are deeply unpopular among the Palestinians. In a recent poll carried out by the Palestinian Center for the Research of Policies and Survey, Only 6% of Palestinians said they would vote for Abbas in an election.
The legitimacy in decline of the current AP leadership calls into question its ability to govern. Corruption, lack of democracy, and the age of Abbas led to appeals by a new leadership that leads the Palestinians to the next chapter of their history. A name stands out with great popularity: Marwan Barghouti.
The “Palestinian Mandela”
Barghouti has long been considered the key to uniting Palestinian factions and reaching the creation of a Palestinian state. In an article 2009 of the magazine Foreign Policywas described as “the best hope of Palestine.” More recently, in July 2024, the magazine The Economist called him “The most important prisoner in the world.”
Despite having been arrested in Israel since 2002, Barghouti has consistently led the polls of potential future AP leaders. His supporters dubbed him “Nelson Mandela Palestinian”, hoping that he can follow the example of the South African leader and to pass from political prisoner the figure capable of unifying a divided people.
Born in the West Bank in 1959, Barghouti stood out as a youthful leader in the years preceding the first intifada and was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1996. But in 2002, he was detained by Israeli security services at the height of the second intifada, and convicted in 2004 for involvement in the murder of five people.
Barghouti refused to recognize the authority of the Israelite Court and did not present a defense in the trial. Was then sentenced to Five perpetual imprisonment penalties.
Barghouti’s appeal lies in its ability to gather broad support between different actors – Palestinians, Israelites and international.
He gained respect with militant Palestinian factions for his armed resistance and his arrest. THE Hamas will even have placed his name on top of potential prisoners’ lists. At the same time, his preference declared by his unsubstantiated resistance and his view of Palestinian democratic governance greens him from Palestinians tired of the corruption of AP.
AND supported by Israelite activists for peace, who see him as the Palestinian solution to end the cycle of violence. Veteran activist Gershon Baskin explained in Times of Israelin April 2025, that Barghouti “remains committed to Israelo-Palestinian peace based on the solution of two states.”
However, it has been reported that AP leaders, aware of the political threat that Barghouti represents, have consistently opposed his release in any prisoners’ exchanges between Israel and Hamas.
As you would expect, for different reasons, Netanyahu vehemently opposes his release, having stated in 2017, in response to an opinion article of Barghouti published in the New York Timesthat “calling Palestinian leader and parliamentary to the leader of the arrested Fatah, Marwan Barghouti, is like calling a pediatrician to Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.”
Barghouti may be the missing piece in the ongoing puzzle towards the creation of a Palestinian state. Can the future of “Palestinian Mandela” be ahead of a country?
