Israel's treatment of Barghouti is symptomatic of the state's fundamental belief that it can crush the national aspirations of the Palestinian people via cruelty and brutal violence. The reason that Israel's apartheid regime is so adamant in refusing to release Barghouti is because Israeli leaders are well aware that Barghouti is one of the few living Palestinian figures who is capable of uniting the Palestinian national movement.
Barghouti is a convicted murderer serving five consecutive life sentences for slaughtering civilians — dressing that up as peacemaking is a moral disgrace. Popularity in a radicalized society doesn't make a killer a statesman. Lionizing this man sanitizes the murders of real victims and rewards terrorism with legitimacy it has never earned.
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