ALBAWABA - Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir caused a lot of anger when he broke into the solitary confinement cell of famous Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti and made direct threats. This led to strong criticism from Palestinian officials and human rights activists.
Channel 7 in Israel says Ben Gvir told Barghouti, "We will kill anyone who hurts the people of Israel." "You are not going to win." It was said that the visit, which was seen as provocative, was meant to make it harder for Palestinian prisoners to stay in jail. Video from the meeting showed that Barghouti looked weak and sick, which made people worry about his care and well-being.
Barghouti's family was shocked by how he looked after seeing that he was very tired and had lost a lot of weight, which they said was because he was not getting enough medical care and was being held in hard conditions. Barghouti has been in jail since 2002, serving five life terms plus 40 years. He is a major figure in the movement of Palestinian inmates.
Ben Gvir has been in charge of Israeli jails since late 2022. Since then, he has put in place strict rules that rights groups say have made prisoners' health much worse. At a Supreme Court meeting in July about jail conditions, he brazenly said that he had cut the amount of food given to Palestinian prisoners.
The head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Raed Abu Al-Homs, said that Ben Gvir's acts were dangerous and broke all the rules. His message to the Palestinians was to stand with Barghouti.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called what happened "organized state terrorism," and Hussein Al-Sheikh, a top Palestinian official, called the threats "the height of psychological, moral, and physical terrorism."
Tensions are high because Israeli military leaders just approved a plan to fully reoccupy the Gaza Strip, which includes actions that are already going on in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City.
