Wife of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti asks Trump to seek his release

Fadwa Barghouti, wife of hunger strike leader Marwan (c) celebrates with other Palestinian women  in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Palestinian prisoners ended a hunger strike May 27, 2017. (Flash90)
Fadwa Barghouti, wife of hunger strike leader Marwan (c) celebrates with other Palestinian women in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Palestinian prisoners ended a hunger strike May 27, 2017. (Flash90)

The wife of high-profile Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti, Fadwa Barghouti, appealed to US President Donald Trump to help release the popular leader from his Israeli jail, her son Arab told AFP.

Barghouti, 66, has been serving multiple life sentences since 2002 for deadly attacks on Israelis but is seen by many Palestinians as a potential leader who could unite their national movement.

“Mr. President, a genuine partner awaits you — one who can help fulfil the dream we share of just and lasting peace in the region. For the sake of freedom for the Palestinian people and peace for all future generations, help release Marwan Barghouti,” lawyer Fadwa Barghouti says in a statement.

Asked whether he would support freeing Barghouti during an interview with US magazine Time on October 15, Trump said he’d be “making a decision” on the matter, without specifying a timeline.

Asked about the matter today during a briefing in Israel, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “I have nothing new to give you on this topic.”

The Times of Israel revealed earlier this month that prominent American Jewish community leader Ronald Lauder has also been privately lobbying for Barghouti’s release.

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