Senior officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA) have formally petitioned mediators to preclude Fatah luminary, Marwan Barghouti, from any prospective prisoner exchange deal between ‘Israel’ and Hamas, according to media sources.
According to a well-placed source acquainted with the ongoing negotiations, Majid Faraj, the head of Palestinian general intelligence, alongside Hussein al-Sheikh, the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) executive committee, submitted the aforementioned request to mediators on Sunday, as reported by MEE.
The source further elaborated that senior PA officials harbored concerns that the liberation of Barghouti could pose a direct threat to the authority of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
Allegedly, the United States, one of the trio of mediators facilitating the indirect negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, has purportedly consented to exclude Barghouti’s name from any potential Prisoners’ swap.
Barghouti, incarcerated by ‘Israel’ since 2002, stands as one of the preeminent Fatah figures in both the West Bank and Gaza.
Recent polling conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research underscores his widespread popularity, indicating that the 64-year-old would overwhelmingly triumph in an electoral contest against the 88-year-old Abbas.
Notably, Barghouti is presently serving a life sentence for his role in orchestrating armed resistance against ‘Israel’ during the Second Intifada, which commenced in 2000.
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