US lawmaker calls on Israel to release Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti

Democratic US Rep. Ro Khanna on Friday called on Israel to release imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, arguing that Palestinians must determine their own political future to advance a durable two-state resolution.

"Barghouti has a unique standing among all Palestinian factions," Khanna said in a video statement posted on US social media company X. "He's seen as non-corrupt, a strong leader, and secular. Barghouti could deliver a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel."

The California lawmaker acknowledged Barghouti's past without extending a pardon or moral absolution, noting that several human rights groups have questioned whether he received a fair trial. Khanna added that former Israeli intelligence and military officials have backed Barghouti's release, drawing parallels to the political integration of the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland to achieve lasting reconciliation.

"For now, we must begin to give Palestinians a voice in their sovereignty and the peace process," Khanna said.

The appeal comes ahead of Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for Nov. 28, which mark the first parliamentary balloting in 20 years, and presidential elections planned for next year. Public opinion surveys frequently place Barghouti as the leading candidate for a future Palestinian presidency.

Born in 1958 in Kobar in the occupied West Bank, Barghouti joined the Fatah movement at 15 and emerged as a prominent figure during the First Intifada. Following years of exile in Jordan, he returned under the 1994 Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Israeli security forces arrested Barghouti at his residence in the West Bank city of Ramallah in 2002. An Israeli court convicted him in 2004 on murder charges related to Second Intifada operations, handing down five life sentences plus 40 years. Barghouti rejected the court's jurisdiction and denied ordering assaults on civilians.

In February 2024, Israeli authorities transferred him to solitary confinement at Ramon Prison.