By Taghreed Saadeh
Thousands of Palestinians and Arabs across the region reacted strongly to the video released by Israel’s far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, during his visit with the imprisoned Fatah leader, Marwan Barghouti. The video was anything but innocent; it carried a deliberate message of psychological warfare directed at the Palestinian people, as Ben Gvir sought to present Barghouti as subdued in his custody, addressing him while Marwan simply nodded his head.
I know Marwan Barghouti personally through my work as a journalist at Al-Arab Al-Yawm daily newspaper. We first met in Amman at the InterContinental Hotel, where Palestinian leaders and negotiating delegations often stayed. The lobby was always bustling with notable Palestinian figures such as Yasser Abed Rabbo, Hassan Asfour, Samir Hleileh, Ghassan Khatib, Jamil Tarifi, among others. It was there that I gathered news, conducted interviews, and encountered Marwan for the first time.
Barghouti, a short, dark-skinned man, radiated presence and charisma. A man of the field, he dressed like ordinary Palestinians, far from the designer shirts and expensive suits, often worth thousands of dollars, that some leaders would purchase from well-known shops in Amman. In stark contrast, Marwan wore modest clothing that hardly suited the luxurious surroundings, yet it made him appear more genuine and closer to the people.
He spoke with passion, using his hands expressively, and even well into his forties carried the same youthful energy. Later I saw him in Ramallah, surrounded by young men whom he inspired and led in demonstrations. He was the keynote speaker at the 50th commemoration of the Nakba in Ramallah. At one point, he briefly faded from the spotlight when Fatah held internal elections for its General Secretariat, in which Hussein al-Sheikh won instead. But Barghouti quickly returned to prominence during the Prisoners’ Uprising, when the late President Yasser Arafat summoned him to mobilize the streets and restore momentum, just before the outbreak of the Second Intifada.
My home was close to the flashpoints of clashes in Ramallah, where I encountered him repeatedly alongside many Fatah leaders who participated in demonstrations. At times, my home became a resting place for them, as well as for journalists and activists.
I interviewed him for Al-Ittihad daily newspaper in Abu Dhabi and for Al-Arab Al-Yawm in Jordan. He was always present on the ground, among the people, leading and inspiring, his name only grew with time. We learned that our prisoners are our leaders, and that martyrs and prisoners alike define the contours of the Palestinian identity.
When I watched Ben Gvir’s recent video, I felt a profound sense of heartbreak. Knowing Marwan personally, I am fully aware of his strength and dignity. Ben Gvir tried to stage an image of “psychological victory,” but in reality, he only exposed the magnitude of humiliation and suffering inflicted on our prisoners, and the vileness of a fascist occupation that disregards even the most basic international norms.
What appeared in that video was not Barghouti’s weakness, but rather the cruelty and degradation imposed by a brutal occupying power. Barghouti remains a towering figure, a great Fatah leader and an inspiration to generations. Ben Gvir may have attempted to tarnish his image, but he failed, for Palestinians understand that this is merely another tactic of psychological warfare. And we, as Palestinians, have inherited this struggle across generations.
This video, instead of undermining Marwan’s stature, should serve as a wake-up call to the international community and a renewed impetus to demand his release, along with the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners enduring abuse and mistreatment.
Marwan Barghouti will remain a leader, a heroic prisoner, and a mentor who inspired the youth, while the occupation will remain the embodiment of oppression and inhumanity.
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