logo
Israeli minister confronts long-imprisoned Palestinian leader face to face

Israeli minister confronts long-imprisoned Palestinian leader face to face

Leader Live3 days ago
Marwan Barghouti is serving five life sentences after being convicted of involvement in attacks at the height of the Palestinian uprising, or intifada, in the early 2000s.
Polls consistently show he is the most popular Palestinian leader.
He has rarely been seen since his arrest more than two decades ago.
It was unclear when the video was taken, but it shows national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, known for staging provocative encounters with Palestinians, telling Barghouti that he will 'not win'.
'Anyone who messes with the people of Israel, anyone who murders our children, anyone who murders our women, we will wipe them out,' Mr Ben-Gvir said in the video.
He repeated those words in a post on X in which he shared the footage.
Mr Ben-Gvir's spokesman confirmed the visit and the video's authenticity, but denied that the minister was threatening Barghouti.
Barghouti, now in his mid-60s, was a senior leader in President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah movement during the intifada.
Many Palestinians see him as a natural successor to the ageing and unpopular leader of the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Israel considers him a terrorist and has shown no sign it would release him.
Hamas has demanded his release in exchange for hostages taken in the October 7 2023 attack that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
In a Facebook post, Barghouti's wife said she could not recognise her husband, who appeared frail in the video.
Still, she said after watching the video, he remained connected to the Palestinian people.
'Perhaps a part of me does not want to acknowledge everything that your face and body shows, and what you and the prisoners have been through,' wrote Fadwa Al Barghouthi, who spells their last name differently in English.
Israeli officials say they have reduced the conditions under which Palestinians are held to the bare minimum allowed under Israeli and international law.
Many detainees released as part of a ceasefire in Gaza earlier this year appeared gaunt and ill, and some were taken for immediate medical treatment.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Times Square evacuated and bomb squad rush to scene after reports of ‘suspicious device'
Times Square evacuated and bomb squad rush to scene after reports of ‘suspicious device'

Scottish Sun

time15 minutes ago

  • Scottish Sun

Times Square evacuated and bomb squad rush to scene after reports of ‘suspicious device'

Ambulances and a police chopper raced to the tourist hotspot BIG APPLE EMERGENCY Times Square evacuated and bomb squad rush to scene after reports of 'suspicious device' TERRIFIED onlookers have been rushed out of Times Square over reports of a "suspicious device." A bomb squad and emergency services raced to the scene as terrified tourists evacuated the area on Monday afternoon. 2 Police have evacuated Times Square Credit: X/complexsplit 2 Video from the scene showed emergency services rushing to the middle of Times Square Credit: X/Gmoneyball22 Advertisement Police responded to the site after receiving a 911 call about a suspicious device, the New York Police Department told The U.S. Sun. A helicopter could be heard flying over the Midtown area as ambulance sirens rang throughout the streets. Cops issued a warning on social media telling people to avoid the scene until it's cleared. "Expect emergency vehicles and delays in the surrounding area," NYPD said. Advertisement The blocked off area is near West 43rd Street and 7th Avenue. Pictures and videos from the Manhattan scene showed crime scene tape blocking off the street. Times Square is at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue between 42nd and 47th Streets. Police are still active at the scene. Advertisement More to follow... For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos. Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun

Hamas 'agrees to ceasefire-hostage deal' with Israel, senior official says
Hamas 'agrees to ceasefire-hostage deal' with Israel, senior official says

Sky News

time16 minutes ago

  • Sky News

Hamas 'agrees to ceasefire-hostage deal' with Israel, senior official says

Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire-hostage deal with Israel, according to a senior official. Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been holding talks with Hamas in their latest effort to broker a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza. The Hamas official did not provide further details of the agreement or what had been accepted. Hamas has responded positively to such deals in the past, while proposing amendments which have proved unacceptable to Israel. There has been no word from Israel about the proposed ceasefire. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said mediators had been "exerting extensive efforts" to revive a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire, during which hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting cessation of violence.

Netanyahu criticises protests in Israel against his handling of Gaza war
Netanyahu criticises protests in Israel against his handling of Gaza war

The Guardian

time38 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Netanyahu criticises protests in Israel against his handling of Gaza war

Benjamin Netanyahu has criticised massive street protests against his handling of the Gaza war, and failure to secure the release of remaining Israeli hostages, suggesting demonstrators were giving comfort to Hamas's position in negotiations. The Israeli prime minister made his comments against the backdrop of the largest protests in almost two years of war, with estimates that upwards of 400,000 people joined marches across Israel on Sunday. 'The people who are calling today for the war's end without Hamas's defeat are not only toughening Hamas's stance and distancing our hostages' release, they are also ensuring that the atrocities of October 7 will recur time and again, and that our sons and daughters will have to fight time and again in an endless war. 'Therefore, in order to advance our hostages' release and to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, we have to finish the job and defeat Hamas,' said Netanyahu in a statement. The Palestinian health ministry said on Monday that more than 62,000 Palestinians had been killed in the 22-month war in Gaza. At least 60 people were killed in the past 24 hours, bringing to to 62,004 the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war that started on 7 October 2023. A further 156,230 had been wounded, the ministry said. While the day of protest was called by supporters of Israeli hostage families, the scale of the demonstrations suggests increasingly sharp divisions in Israeli society over a conflict that has yet to deliver the return of hostages at a mounting economic, diplomatic and social cost for the country. With 50 hostages still held in Gaza – of whom about 20 are believed still to be alive – some of those attending the march carried signs referencing the death of the dual US-Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was killed by his captors last October along with five other hostages as Israeli troops approached where they were being held. Placards repeated a sentiment expressed by Goldberg-Polin's father at his son's funeral – 'may your memory be a revolution' – adapting the familiar Jewish expression of condolence 'may your memory be a blessing'. Responding to Netanyahu's remarks, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum lambasted the Israeli prime minister, saying: 'They have been languishing in Gaza for 22 months, on your watch.' Netanyahu, who is wanted by the international criminal court over allegations of war crimes in Gaza, was also fiercely criticised by the Israeli opposition leader, Yair Golan, as a man who 'lies as he breathes'. He said: 'The man who time and again refused to eliminate Hamas's leaders before October 7, who funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars from Qatar to finance the tunnels and weapons that threaten our hostages. 'This is the same Netanyahu who strengthened Hamas back then, and it is he who is strengthening Hamas now as well. Netanyahu doesn't know how to win and doesn't want to free the hostages. He needs an eternal war in order to cling to his seat and to escape a commission of inquiry [into the 7 October Hamas attack that triggered the war]. 'Israel will be liberated from Hamas only once we are liberated from the government of Netanyahu, and [his far-right allies Bezalel] Smotrich and [Itamar] Ben-Gvir.' The protests follow the decision by the Israeli cabinet earlier this month to launch a new military operation in Gaza City despite warnings by security officials it would put the lives of the remaining hostages in peril. On Monday, Netanyahu appeared to receive the public support of the US president for his strategy. Donald Trump wrote on social media: 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.' Amid the threat of an imminent Israeli ground offensive, thousands of Palestinians are leaving their homes in eastern areas of Gaza City, under constant Israeli bombardment, for points to the west and south of the shattered territory. Israel's plan to seize control of Gaza City has stirred alarm abroad and at home, where tens of thousands of Israelis held some of the largest protests seen since the war began, urging a deal to end the fighting and free the remaining hostages. The planned offensive has spurred Egyptian and Qatari ceasefire mediators to step up efforts in what a source familiar with the talks with Hamas militants in Cairo said could be 'the last-ditch attempt'. Netanyahu has described Gaza City as Hamas's last big urban bastion. But, with Israel already holding 75% of Gaza, the military has warned that expanding the offensive could endanger hostages still alive and draw troops into protracted and deadly guerrilla warfare.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store