Marwan Barghouti (also transliterated al-Barghuthi; Arabic: مروان البرغوثي; born 6 June 1959) is a Palestinian political leader convicted and imprisoned for his role in deadly attacks against Israel.

In 1984, Barghouthi married a fellow student, Fadwa Ibrahim, a prominent advocate for Palestinian prisoners, who later became the leading campaigner for her husband's release during his current imprisonment.

Israeli authorities have called Barghouti a terrorist, accusing him of directing numerous attacks, including suicide bombings, against civilian and military targets alike.

He completed his secondary education and received a high school diploma while serving a four-year term in jail, where he gained fluency in Hebrew.

Fadwa took bachelor's and master's degrees in law and was a prominent advocate in her own right on behalf of Palestinian prisoners, before becoming the leading campaigner for her husband's release from his current jail term.

[1] During the uprising, he was arrested by Israel and deported to Jordan for incitement,[13] where he stayed for seven years until he was permitted to return under the terms of the Oslo Accords in 1994.

Barghouti campaigned against corruption in Arafat's administration and human rights violations by its security services, and he established relationships with a number of Israeli politicians and members of Israel's peace movement.

[15] By the summer of 2000, particularly after the Camp David summit failed, Barghouti was disillusioned and said that popular protests and "new forms of military struggle" would be features of the "next Intifada".

[1] He has stated that, "I, and the Fatah movement to which I belong, strongly oppose attacks and the targeting of civilians inside Israel, our future neighbor, I reserve the right to protect myself, to resist the Israeli occupation of my country and to fight for my freedom" and has said, "I still seek peaceful coexistence between the equal and independent countries of Israel and Palestine based on full withdrawal from Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.

[19] According to National Public Radio, Barghouti "cut his ideological teeth as the political leader of Fatah's armed militant wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.

In addition, he was convicted of attempted murder for a failed car bomb attack near Malha Mall that exploded prematurely, resulting in the deaths of two suicide bombers, and for membership and activity in a terrorist organization.

Reuters reported that some see Barghouti "as a Palestinian Nelson Mandela, the man who could galvanize a drifting and divided national movement if only he were set free by Israel".

[29] According to The Jerusalem Post, "[u]nlike many in the Western media, Palestinian journalists and writers have rarely - if ever - referred to Barghouti as...the 'Palestinian Nelson Mandela.

Still others, operating from a realpolitik perspective, have pointed out that allowing Barghouti to re-enter Palestinian politics could serve to bolster Fatah against gains in Hamas' popularity.

[31] According to Pinhas Inbari of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, "Hamas understands it needs to provide its supporters with some comfort, especially seeing the suffering of the Palestinian people.

"[33][34]However several MKs, including Kadima MK Meir Sheetrit, suggested that Barghouti will likely be released as part of future peace negotiations, although they did not specify when.

The list, which was presented to the Palestinian Authority's central elections committee on that day, included Mohammed Dahlan, Kadoura Fares, Samir Mashharawi and Jibril Rajoub.

[23] The split followed Barghouti's earlier refusal of Mahmoud Abbas' offer to be second on the Fatah party's parliamentary list, behind Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei.

Some observers also hypothesized that the formation of al-Mustaqbal was mostly a negotiating tactic to get members of the Young Guard into higher positions of power within Fatah and its electoral list.

In late 2004, Barghouti announced from his Israeli prison his intention to run in the Palestinian Authority presidential election in January 2005, called for following the death of President Yasser Arafat in November.

[39] On 7 May, the Israel Prison Service released videos allegedly showing Barghouti hiding in the toilet stall of his cell while eating cookies and candy, then trying to flush the wrappers.

[40][41] Anonymous sources in the prison service confirmed the authenticity of the videos, saying that the food was made available to Barghouti to test his adherence to the hunger strike.

Israeli media reported that this was not Barghouti's first time being caught secretly breaking a hunger strike, and that in 2004 he had been photographed hiding a plate after eating off it in his cell.

[45] In August 2023, Barghouti's wife Fadwa held meetings with senior officials and diplomats across the world, including Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, to advocate for her husband's release and position him as a successor to Abbas.