Above photo: Nasser Shiyoukhi/AP.
Israeli officials say that Barghouti will not be included in any prisoner-swap agreement.
Even after 23 years of imprisonment.
Over two hundred prominent cultural figures have joined a global campaign advocating for the release of Palestinian political prisoner Marwan Barghouti, widely regarded as a unifying figure capable of reigniting a viable path to Palestinian statehood.
Writers Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith, and Annie Ernaux joined actors Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, and Mark Ruffalo, along with public figures such as Gary Lineker and Richard Branson, in signing an open letter urging Barghouti’s freedom.
The statement expresses “grave concern at the continuing imprisonment of Marwan Barghouti, his violent mistreatment and denial of legal rights whilst imprisoned,” and calls on governments and the UN to actively work for his release.
Barghouti, now 66, has spent 23 years in Israeli prisons after what the Inter-Parliamentary Union described as a “deeply flawed” trial. An elected parliamentarian at the time, he continues to top Palestinian opinion polls and is widely considered the most popular political figure in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Israel’s decision to keep him imprisoned, even during the recent prisoner swap after the October ceasefire, has been tied not to security assessments but to concerns over the political weight he could carry if freed.
His son, Arab Barghouti, said Israeli officials view him as a threat “because he wants to bring stability … a unifying Palestinian vision that is accepted by everyone, and the international community, as well.”
The letter’s organizers have modeled the effort on the cultural mobilization that helped secure the late president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela’s release under apartheid.
Mandela himself said in 2002 that “What is happening to Barghouti is the same as what happened to me.”
British musician and producer Brian Eno said that “cultural voices can shift the course of politics,” while British-Palestinian novelist Selma Dabbagh argued that freeing him would allow Palestinians “to determine their own leadership, whatever shape that may take.”
The pressure campaign coincides with growing alarm that Israeli officials may pass new legislation enabling the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners – a move that could apply to Barghouti.
His continued detention also intersects with the newly passed UN resolution establishing an International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, a plan rejected by major Palestinian human rights groups and one that Barghouti would need to navigate if released.
Barghouti’s family and civil society allies launched a broader international campaign days earlier, placing large “Free Marwan” murals across London and erecting a public art installation in his home village of Kobar.
His wife, Fadwa Barghouti, has begun engaging Israeli media to shift public opinion, stressing that he “sees the two-state solution as the way to move forward and live in peace.”
In the occupied West Bank, his son described the campaign as both personal and collective.
“Honoring him in this way is not only a call for his freedom – it is a call for the release of all Palestinian prisoners.”
Barghouti has been repeatedly held in solitary confinement, denied family visits for three years, and subjected to multiple beatings.
Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, was recently filmed threatening him with execution as the Knesset studies a bill to impose the death penalty on those convicted of “nationalist-motivated” killings.
Despite mounting pressure, Israeli officials maintain that Barghouti will not be included in the prisoner exchange under US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan. “At this stage, Barghouti will not be part of this release,” Israeli spokesperson Shosh Badrusian said.
The agreement’s first phase includes an Israeli withdrawal to an agreed line and an exchange involving roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, but excludes the most prominent detainee in Palestinian politics.
