Ben Gvir filmed visiting, threatening jailed Palestinian terror convict Marwan Barghouti; PA outraged

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has visited the prison cell of prominent Palestinian terror convict Marwan Barghouti and issued a threat, footage published on social media shows, drawing an outraged reaction from the Palestinian Authority.

Barghouti, 66, who has been incarcerated since 2004 after being sentenced to five life sentences plus 40 years for his role in the murders of five civilians during the Second Intifada, is nevertheless popular among Palestinians and regarded as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. He is a senior member of the PA’s ruling Fatah party. Palestinians have long sought his release, including through hostage deals, but Jerusalem has resisted the notion of freeing him.

Visiting his cell alongside Israel Prisons Service chief Kobi Yaakobi, Ben Gvir is filmed telling Barghouti: “You won’t win. Whoever messes with the Nation of Israel, whoever murders our children and women — we will wipe them out. You should know this, [this happened] throughout history.”

בן גביר ביקר היום בכלא הביטחוני גנות – במהלך ביקורו פגש השר באחד האגפים המבודדים את הארכי מחבל מראוון ברגותי, המרצה 5 מאסרי עולם.

השר העביר לו מסר תקיף לעיני המצלמות: "מי שיתעסק עם עם ישראל, מי שירצח לנו ילדים, מי שירצח לנו נשים, אנחנו נמחק אותו. אתם לא תנצחו אותנו״ pic.twitter.com/MKQv8jjYdt

— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) August 14, 2025

The video is the first image of Barghouti released in years, and his family tells Al Jazeera that he looks “different” and as if he’s suffering from hunger. They claim he could be “executed” at Ben Gvir’s order.

Hussein al-Sheikh, Mahmoud Abbas’s deputy, condemns the video as “the height of psychological, moral, and physical terrorism practiced against prisoners, and a violation of international and humanitarian conventions and norms.”

“This represents an unprecedented escalation in the occupation’s policy against Palestinian prisoners, necessitating the immediate intervention of international organizations and institutions to protect them.”