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US Representative Ro Khanna urges Israel to free Marwan Barghouti
US Democratic Representative Ro Khanna called on Israel on Friday to release imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti in a video message. Khanna said Palestinians should determine their political future; Barghouti is serving five life sentences and an additional 40 years in prison.
US Democratic Representative Ro Khanna called on Israel to release imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti in a video message posted on the social media platform X on Friday.
Khanna said Palestinians must have a say in their political future to achieve a lasting two-state solution. Describing Barghouti as a powerful leader who has not been involved in corruption, Khanna said he holds a unique position among all Palestinian groups.
Khanna argued that Barghouti could contribute to establishing a Palestinian state that would live in peace with Israel.
Call to release Barghouti
Representative Khanna of California emphasized that he was not seeking an amnesty or moral exoneration for Barghouti in his assessment of Barghouti’s past. Khanna said some human rights organizations had questioned whether Barghouti had received a fair trial, adding that former Israeli intelligence and military officials also supported his release.
Khanna compared his approach with efforts in Northern Ireland to achieve lasting reconciliation by involving the Irish Republican Army in the political process. He said Palestinians must be granted sovereignty and a say in the peace process.
Call comes ahead of elections
Khanna’s call came ahead of Palestinian parliamentary elections scheduled for November 28. The elections are planned to be the first parliamentary vote in 20 years. Presidential elections are also planned to be held in Palestine next year.
Opinion polls list Barghouti among the leading candidates for the future presidency of the Palestinian state.
Barghouti’s arrest and sentence
Born in 1958 in the town of Kobar in the occupied West Bank, Barghouti joined the Fatah movement at the age of 15 and became one of the prominent figures during the First Intifada. After years in exile in Jordan, he returned to the region under the 1994 Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Israeli security forces detained Barghouti at his residence in Ramallah in the West Bank in 2002. An Israeli court convicted him in 2004 on murder charges linked to operations during the Second Intifada and sentenced him to five life terms and an additional 40 years in prison.
Barghouti did not recognize the court’s jurisdiction and denied ordering attacks against civilians. Israeli authorities placed him in solitary confinement at Ramon Prison in February 2024.
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