RAMALLAH: Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti’s son urged US President Donald Trump to “seize the opportunity” created by the Gaza truce to secure his father’s release and revive the two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
Sometimes dubbed the “Mandela of Palestine” by his supporters, Marwan Barghouti, 66, was one of the leaders of the second intifada, the Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.
In June 2004, an Israeli court sentenced him to five life sentences after finding him guilty of involvement in four anti-Israeli attacks.
But the heavy sentences have not diminished his popularity among Palestinians.
“He’s capable and has the track record to unify the Palestinian people,” Arab Barghouti said in an interview on Sunday in English in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
“Someone like him represents a great opportunity for the international community to prove that they are serious about supporting the two-state solution.”
Arab Barghouti’s comments come after several countries — including France, Britain and Canada — formally recognized a Palestinian state last month.
He is the second member of the family to appeal to the US president to secure his father’s release. Earlier this month, Marwan Barghouti’s wife Fadwa also urged Trump to intervene.
Trump said in an interview with US magazine Time on October 15 that he would be “making a decision” on the matter, without specifying a timeline.
“I really hope he can do that, pressure the Israelis into releasing my father, because he is a partner for peace,” Arab Barghouti said, adding that his family “really welcome” Trump’s comment.
Though the two have not been allowed to speak in three years, Arab Barghouti said his father represents Palestinian unity and the best chance for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.
A longtime member of Abbas’ Fatah party, Marwan Barghouti has consistently been re-elected to the party’s central committee, including twice while in jail.
With his likeness painted on many walls in the occupied West Bank and, until recently, in Gaza, Marwan Barghouti is considered one of the few figures who could be accepted as a leader by all Palestinian political factions, including Hamas.
