Israeli Minister Filmed Taunting Jailed Palestinian Leader Barghouti in Cell
Israeli minister Ben Gvir filmed taunting jailed Palestinian leader Barghouti in a video showing the Fatah leader for the first time in a decade. The clip drew outrage from Palestinian officials and Barghouti's family, who said he was unrecognizable.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In what the Palestinian Authority has condemned as "the height of psychological, moral, and physical terrorism," Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has published a video of himself visiting the prison cell of prominent Palestinian inmate Marwan Barghouti and appearing to taunt him.
The footage, which marks the first public sighting of the jailed Fatah leader in over a decade, shows a visibly frail Barghouti being confronted by the far-right minister, who declares that Israel will "wipe out" those who harm its people.
The short, undated video, published on social media, shows Ben Gvir and at least two other individuals, including Israel Prison Service (IPS) chief Kobi Yaakobi, surrounding a gaunt-looking Barghouti in a corner of his cell.
"You won’t win. Whoever messes with the Nation of Israel, whoever murders our children and women — we will wipe them out. You should know this, [this happened] throughout history," Ben Gvir can be heard saying in Hebrew, according to the Times of Israel.
The clip, which AFP reported was posted by Ben Gvir to his X account on Friday morning, shows Barghouti nodding and attempting to interject before it ends. The minister later doubled down on his remarks in the accompanying post, stating, "I will repeat it again and again, without apology."
אני קורא הבוקר שכל מיני "גורמים בכירים" ברשות לא כ"כ אהבו את מה שאמרתי לארכי מחבל מרואן ברגותי ימ"ש
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) August 15, 2025
אז אני אחזור על זה שוב ושוב בלי להתנצל - מי שיתעסק עם עם ישראל, מי שירצח לנו ילדים, מי שירצח לנו נשים, אנחנו נמחק אותו. בעזרת השם. pic.twitter.com/pp1BNqF58M
The video drew immediate and furious condemnation from Palestinian officials. Hussein al-Sheikh, a deputy to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, denounced the incident as a "violation of international and humanitarian conventions and norms" that represents "an unprecedented escalation," as reported by both the Times of Israel and The National.
The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry, in a statement carried by the official Wafa news agency and cited by AFP, described the confrontation as an "unprecedented provocation" and "organised state terrorism." The officials called for the immediate intervention of international organizations to protect Palestinian prisoners.
The appearance of Barghouti, who his family says has been held in solitary confinement since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and has been brutally beaten by guards—charges the IPS denies—has shocked his supporters.
His wife, Fadwa Barghouti, who has led a long-standing campaign for his release, stated that she barely recognized her husband. "Maybe part of me doesn’t want to acknowledge everything your face and body express, and what you and the other prisoners have endured," she said in a statement reported by the Times of Israel.
"They are still, Marwan, chasing you and pursuing you even in the solitary cell you’ve lived in for two years," she added.
Barghouti, 66, is a senior member of the PA’s ruling Fatah party and has been incarcerated since 2002.
According to the Times of Israel, he was convicted and sentenced to five life terms plus 40 years for his role in planning attacks that led to the deaths of five civilians during the Second Intifada.
Despite his long imprisonment, he remains highly popular among Palestinians, often topping opinion polls and being regarded as a potential successor to President Abbas. His supporters sometimes refer to him as the "Palestinian Nelson Mandela," as noted by The National and AFP.
Sources close to Ben Gvir, contacted by AFP, claimed the meeting at Ganot prison in southern Israel took place "by chance" during an inspection visit by the minister, though they would not specify when the footage was filmed.
The video's release comes amid ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, during which the potential release of Barghouti has been raised as a possibility, The National reported.
