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Marwan Barghouthi held in solitary confinement after penning letter of support for Palestinian protests

18 May 2021 12:34 BST

Israel placed Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouthi in solitary confinement after penning a letter of support to Palestinian protests against Israel's settlers policies in East Jerusalem and the ongoing bombardment of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Barghouti, a Fatah leader, was last arrested in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah in 2002 and sentenced to five consecutive life sentences for his alleged role in a series of attacks during the Second Intifada.

The Palestinian Committee for Prisoners' Affairs said on Tuesday that Barghouti, 62, was moved from Hadarim prison to Ayalon prison, where he remains in solitary confinement.

He was put in an individual cell a few days ago after publishing a statement calling Palestinian to confront the Israeli occupation.

Palestinian in historic Palestine - in Jerusalem, West Bank and mixed cities of Jaffa and Lod - launched on Tuesday a general strike to show unity in front of ongoing Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Fateh Youth Movement said that this was the 24th time Barghouti has been put in solitary confinement since he was arrested in 2002.

On 15 May, Barghouti said in a letter leaked from his cell in an Israeli prison that: “We are living in a fateful stage for the future of our cause and struggle, and our great people have declared everywhere that their compass and destination have been, and will always be, the city of Jerusalem, the crown of the nation, its beating heart, and the eternal capital of the Palestinian people.”

He called for national unity and strengthening the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) role in politics and armed actions against Israel and to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad in PLO's decision-making. 

Late in April, during the early days of the Israeli crackdown on Palestinian demonstrators and international activists in Jerusalem's Damascus Gate and Shiekh Jarrah, Facebook banned Barghouti's public page other Palestinian pages of activists and journalists.