Israeli Far-Right Minister Confronts Prominent Palestinian Inmate

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir published a video on Friday showing him confronting the most high-profile Palestinian detainee in Israeli custody, Marwan Barghouti, inside his prison cell.

Barghouti, a leading member of the Palestinian Fatah party, has spent over 20 years in prison, serving a life sentence for his role in anti-Israeli attacks during the early 2000s.

In the video, shared by Ben Gvir on X, the minister and two other individuals, including a prison guard, are seen surrounding Barghouti in a corner of his cell.

Ben Gvir says in Hebrew: “You will not defeat us. Whoever harms the people of Israel, whoever kills children, whoever kills women… we will erase them.”

Barghouti attempts to respond but is repeatedly interrupted by Ben Gvir, who adds:”No, you know this. And it’s been the case throughout history.”

The video does not disclose Barghouti’s exact prison location. Sources close to Ben Gvir told AFP that the encounter occurred “by chance” at Ganot Prison in southern Israel during an inspection visit by the minister, though they did not specify when the footage was recorded.

In his post, Ben Gvir commented:”This morning I read that various ‘senior officials’ in the Palestinian Authority didn’t quite like what I said to arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti – may his name be erased. So I will repeat it again and again, without apology: whoever messes with the people of Israel, whoever murders our children, whoever murders our women – we will wipe them out. With God’s help.”

Barghouti, now in his sixties, was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to life in 2004 for murder. Israel labels him a “terrorist” due to his involvement in the Second Intifada (2000–2005). Despite his incarceration, he often tops polls of popular Palestinian leaders and is sometimes referred to by supporters as the “Palestinian Mandela”.

His son, Arab Barghouti, told AFP he was shocked both by the state of his father, whom he had not seen in three years, and by the “blatantly arrogant” behaviour of the Israeli government, accusing it of violating international law.

“He’s lost a lot of weight, and he looks old,” he said, adding: “They will not break his image in the eyes of the Palestinian people.”

The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry condemned the encounter via the official news agency Wafa, calling it “an unprecedented provocation”.

The Palestinian mission to the United Nations said Barghouti was “enduring extremely harsh humanitarian conditions in his solitary confinement cell” and claimed he had “lost more than half his weight due to deliberate medical neglect and mistreatment”.

They added that Ben Gvir continued to threaten Barghouti directly, attempting “to break his will and resilience”.

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, expressed solidarity with Barghouti, stating: “There is no meaning of savagery left that has not been embodied by Ben Gvir.”