WHEN President Catherine Connolly last week hosted a visit in Áras an Uachtaráin by Arab Barghouti, it underscored the esteem in which his father, the imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, is held in by the international community.

The last time Marwan Barghouti was seen by the public was in a video released in May 2025 showing far-right Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatening and seeking to intimidate and humiliate Barghouti in his prison cell, where he has been held in solitary confinement since October 7 2023.

The fact that Ben-Givr made a point of going to Barghouti’s cell and then releasing the video online shows how much the Israelis fear him.

When hundreds of political prisoners were released as part of the Gaza negotiations, the one person Israel refused to consider was Barghouti.

Most likely because he is viewed as the one person who is able to unite Palestinians in a movement towards democratic renewal and future peace.

Born in 1959 in the West Bank village of Kobar, Barghouti rose to prominence during the late 1980s as a youth leader during the first intifada (uprising).

His political career advanced steadily and he was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1996. During the 1990s, he developed a reputation as a pragmatic leader, maintaining dialogue with Israeli counterparts and expressing support for a negotiated two-state solution.

The outbreak of the second intifada in 2000 marked a turning point. Barghouti became a central figure in the uprising and was arrested........

© The Irish News