Marwan Barghouti’s son: Released prisoner said guards ‘physically shattered’ my dad, cut off part of his ear

Qassam Barghouti, son of Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, says on Facebook that he received this morning a call telling him Marwan’s Israeli guards “physically shattered” him, breaking his ribs and teeth and cutting off part of one ear, “for entertainment.”

The caller claimed to be a released Palestinian prisoner and called from an Israeli number, the younger Barghouti says in the post, which he appears to have deleted.

In a later post, Barghouti says the family is still trying to reach the unnamed released prisoner again and has contacted all possible official bodies for more information, to no avail.

“I apologize for worrying so many people,” he says. “I hope my dad and all the other prisoners are okay. That’s all I care about.”

A spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service says in a statement to The Times of Israel that the allegations are “another total lie by the lying and propaganda machine” against IPS staff “serving with professionalism in the face of a convicted terrorist.”

Responding to Barghouti’s statement, the Palestinian Authority’s prisoners’ affairs committee says it is working to learn more about Barghouti’s condition, adding that Palestinian prisoners’ families are sometimes subject to harassment and intimidation.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s office also puts out a statement condemning the treatment of Barghouti and other Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

“These violations constitute a full-fledged war crime,” says the statement.

Marwan Barghouti, formerly head of Fatah’s Tanzim armed wing, is serving five life terms for his role in the murder of five Israelis during the Second Intifada. He denies the charges.

Opinion polls consistently show Barghouti to be the most popular figure in Palestinian politics.

Barghouti’s family and lawyers have reported a sharp deterioration in his condition since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, including being placed in solitary confinement and subject to severe beatings.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has publicly touted the worsened conditions of Palestinian prisoners and filmed a video of himself taunting Barghouthi in prison.