From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 13, 2026
Marwan Barghouti’s family says he was injured by rubber bullet; Prison Service denies report
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The family of imprisoned Palestinian political figure and terror convict Marwan Barghouti alleges that Israeli prison guards shot him in the leg with a rubber bullet last week, an incident denied by Israeli prison authorities.
Barghouti, a prominent figure during the Second Intifada, was convicted by an Israeli court on five counts of murder and sentenced to multiple life terms for his role in terror attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He is seen by many Palestinians as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“One of the prison guards fired a rubber bullet at Marwan’s leg, causing him to bleed and inflicting a painful injury,” his wife, Fadwa Barghouti, writes. “It was a yet another episode in the ongoing assaults against him.”
His son, Arab Barghouti, says the incident happened “some time last week” at Ganot prison in Israel’s Negev Desert.
He says the family learned about the incident from his father’s lawyer and that Barghouti had not received medical treatment for the injury.
In a letter to the prison service, Barghouti’s lawyer, Israeli civil rights attorney Avigdor Feldman, says his client had “complained that he had been shot in the leg,” when the two spoke during his last visit.
AFP has reviewed a copy of the letter.
Israel Prison Service dismisses the allegation.
“The allegation described is false and entirely without factual basis,” it says. “The Israel Prison Service operates in accordance with the law and under constant judicial oversight.”
In October 2025, Arab Barghouti said Israeli prison guards had severely beaten his father during a prison transfer the previous month, leaving him with four broken ribs and head injuries.
In August, a video shared on social media showed far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatening a physically weak Barghouti inside a jail.
Yesterday, the Arab League called for an international commission of inquiry into what it said were “repeated assaults” on Barghouti.
The Times of Israel Community.