Asim al-Barghouti Enters His Second Month in Solitary
Asim al-Barghouti has been held in solitary confinement at Megiddo Prison for approximately two months. His family cannot reach him. His lawyers cannot find him.
The 39-year-old from Kobar, a town in the Ramallah district, was transferred to isolation after the Gaza ceasefire ended, following detention at Gilboa Prison. Israeli authorities have moved him between facilities so frequently that legal visits have become nearly impossible.
“A released prisoner from the section where Asim was held informed us that he urgently needs a lawyer visit,” his family says. “However, due to his frequent transfers between prisons, arranging such visits has become extremely difficult. On one occasion, the visiting lawyer arrived at the prison only to discover that Asim had been transferred to another facility. On another occasion, he was denied a visit due to the state of emergency. Since the outbreak of the war, the family has been making every effort to arrange a lawyer visit to check on him and learn of his condition.”
Released prisoners who encountered al-Barghouti describe him as a source of strength for fellow detainees, someone who lifts morale and commands respect. But his mother remains anxious. Conditions in Israeli prisons have deteriorated sharply since the Gaza war: severe food restrictions, medical neglect, suspended family visits, and proposed legislation that could allow the execution of prisoners.
The Path to Life Imprisonment
Asim al-Barghouti grew up in a family defined by resistance and loss. He finished secondary school, earned a bachelor’s degree, and followed his brother Saleh into armed struggle.
On December 13, 2018, one day after Israeli forces killed Saleh in the village of Surda north of Ramallah, Asim carried out a shooting attack near the Givat Asaf settlement east of Ramallah. Two Israeli soldiers were killed and others wounded. A week earlier, he had participated in another shooting near the Ofra settlement, injuring ten soldiers and settlers.
Al-Barghouti evaded Israeli security forces for a month before his arrest on January 8, 2019, in the village of Abu Shukheidim in the Ramallah district. In March 2019, Israeli authorities demolished his home.
On June 24, 2020, an Israeli court sentenced him to four consecutive life terms and imposed a fine of 16 million shekels.
This was not his first imprisonment. He had already served 11 years in Israeli detention.
During his current incarceration, al-Barghouti completed a master’s degree and was preparing to begin doctoral studies when the state of emergency was declared, ending educational programs for prisoners.
A Family Under Pressure
The al-Barghouti family has faced repeated Israeli actions since Asim’s arrest. Authorities demolished the home of his brother Saleh and detained his parents and siblings.
Approximately one week ago, Israeli forces arrested his brother Mohammad al-Barghouti, 24, after raiding the family home, detaining his mother for interrogation, and ransacking the property. Mohammad was transferred to Etzion interrogation center, where he was placed under administrative detention.
Mohammad had been arrested previously during the Gaza war and released in poor health. He has spent a total of five years in Israeli prisons.
The family’s history of imprisonment spans generations. Asim’s father, Omar al-Barghouti, known as Abu Asif, died in 2021 after spending 30 years in Israeli detention. His uncle, Nael al-Barghouti, served more than 40 years before his release in the Flood of the Free prisoner exchange. His brother Saleh was killed by Israeli forces. His mother continues to wait.
Asim al-Barghouti is one of 116 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences whose names Israel has refused to include in exchange negotiations. Seventeen of them are from the Ramallah governorate alone. Their families are calling on human rights organizations to intervene before prison conditions, they say, kill them slowly.
