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Trump Weighs Urging Israel to Free Marwan Barghouti

U.S. deliberations reflect a search for credible Palestinian leadership after the ceasefire, with Israel still rejecting his release.

FILE - A man walks past a mural depicting the Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, with a message that reads in Arabic, "See you soon,” on Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File)
Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti (C) is accompanied by Israeli prison guards after a deliberation at Jerusalem Magistrate's court January 25, 2012. Convicted of murder for his role in attacks on Israelis, Barghouti was jailed for life by Israel in 2004. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
FILE - Marwan Barghouti, center, raises his handcuffed hands in the air on the opening day of his trial in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 14, 2002. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Overview

  • In a Time interview released Thursday, President Trump said he was being asked about Marwan Barghouti and would be "making a decision."
  • Barghouti, 66, is serving multiple life sentences from a 2004 conviction over attacks that killed five people, and Israel labels him a security threat.
  • He was excluded from the October prisoner exchange under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, and Barghouti’s family says Prime Minister Netanyahu rebuffed U.S. appeals to free him.
  • Barghouti remains a leading contender in Palestinian opinion polls and is viewed by U.S. envoys and some Israeli figures as a potential unifier for a two-state path.
  • Two freed inmates alleged he was beaten during a Sept. 14 transfer, claims the Israel Prison Service called fake, as his wife publicly urged Trump to intervene.