President Donald Trump is suggesting he could call on Israel to release imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, the most popular and potentially unifying Palestinian leader.
Coca-Cola cans are displayed at a grocery store in Mount Prospect, Ill., Thursday, July 17, 2025. Read full article: Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages pulls certain drinks due to possible metal in products Pre-K 4 SA celebrated the grand opening of its new South Education Center, marking a significant expansion in early childhood education for families who live on the South Side.
Read full article: Pre-K 4 SA opens new South Side center with infant, toddler classrooms FILE - Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups speaks during an NBA basketball press conference, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Portland, Ore. Miami Heat’s Rozier, Trail Blazers’ Billups arrested in federal gambling probe, sources sayPoliticsFILE - Marwan Barghouti, center, raises his handcuffed hands in the air on the opening day of his trial in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 14, 2002. President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Washington. FILE - A man walks past a mural depicting the Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, with a message that reads in Arabic,"See you soon, on Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Aug. 20, 2025. FILE - Marwan Barghouti, center, raises his handcuffed hands in the air on the opening day of his trial in Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 14, 2002. "I was literally being confronted with that question about 15 minutes before you called,” Trump told Time magazine interview when asked about Barghouti. “So I’ll be making a decision.” The White House did not respond to a request for comment about Trump's deliberations on the matter. But the president's acknowledgment of the internal discussions underscores the difficult task of finding credible political figures to oversee governance in Gaza as the U.S. and Israel say they are committed to preventing Hamas from continuing to rule the territory.was not among prisoners Israel agreed to release this month in exchange for hostages under the Gaza ceasefire deal, despite Hamas officials reportedly calling for his freedom. Israel views Barghouti as a terrorist leader. He is serving multiple life sentences after being convicted in 2004 in connection with attacks in Israel that killed five people. Some experts say Israel fears Barghouti for another reason: An advocate of a two-state solution even as he backed armed resistance to occupation, Barghouti could be a powerful rallying figure for Palestinians. Some Palestinians view him asOne of the few consensus figures in Palestinian politics, the 66-year-old Barghouti is widely seen as a potential successor to, the aging and unpopular leader of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority that runs pockets of the West Bank. Polls consistently show Barghouti is the most popular Palestinian leader. Barghouti headed Fatah in the West Bank when the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising against Israel, broke out. Israel accused him of being the leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a loose collection of Fatah-linked armed groups that carried out attacks on Israelis. Barghouti never commented on his links to the Brigades. While he expressed hopes for a Palestinian state and Israel side by side in peace, he said Palestinians had a right to fight back in the face of growing Israeli settlements and the military’s violence against Palestinians. Soon after, he was arrested by Israel. At trial he opted not to defend himself because he did not recognize the court’s authority. He was convicted of murder for involvement in several Brigades’ attacks and given five life sentences, while acquitted over other attacks. Most of those released by Israel under the ceasefire this month are members of Hamas and the Fatah faction arrested in the 2000s. Many were convicted of involvement in shootings, bombings or other attacks that killed or attempted to kill Israeli civilians, settlers and soldiers. After their release, more than half were sent to Gaza or into exile outside the Palestinian territories. The 2000s saw the eruption of the second intifada, fueled by anger over continued occupation despite years of peace talks. The uprising turned bloody, with Palestinian armed groups carrying out attacks that killed hundreds of Israelis. The Israeli military killed several thousand Palestinians.“We could start reconstruction of the areas that are free of Hamas very quickly. We think that we could potentially get hundreds of thousands of Gazans living in that area very quickly,” Vance said. “But again, this is all still pretty early. But that’s the basic idea.” Rafah’s population surged early in the war as many Palestinians were displaced by Israeli operations elsewhere in the territory. By this past spring, Rafah was also largely decimated by the fighting. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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