Israel transfers Marwan Barghouti to solitary for planning uprising, media reports

Israel’s Channel 13 reported yesterday that the occupation’s prison administration transferred prominent Fatah leader, prisoner Marwan Barghouti, to solitary confinement.

It said that the prison administration “took measures against Barghouti claiming he is pushing for escalating resistance in the West Bank.”

It explained that “Barghouti was transferred from Ofer Prison to solitary confinement in another prison,” without specifying which prison, after the prison administration “received information that Barghouti is encouraging the escalation of acts of resistance against the occupation in the West Bank.”

The occupation authorities claimed that “Barghouti is working through several channels to break out a Third Intifada in the West Bank, due to the continued Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.”

Barghouti is a prominent politician and leader in the Fatah movement. He participated in the First Intifada in 1987 and was one of the most prominent faces of the Second Intifada in 2000. He was arrested and exiled on several occasions and was subjected to failed Israeli assassination attempts. He has been sentenced to five life sentences and has been held in detention since 2002.

In spite of his incarceration he has a large following and numerous polls show that, should Palestinian elections be held, he would likely be chosen president of the Palestinian Authority (PA).

READ: Marwan Barghouti enters 22nd year in prison