Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is urging Israel to release convicted terrorist leader Marwan Barghouti, who is serving multiple life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis, casting the move as a step toward Palestinian statehood even as critics warn it rewards violence.
According to Breitbart, Khanna made his appeal on X, declaring, I am calling for the release of Marwan Barghouti from Israeli prison. In an accompanying video, he argued that Palestinians, not Israel or the United States, should determine their leadership and suggested Barghouti could be central to that process.
Palestinians must choose their own leaders. Barghouti has a unique standing among all Palestinian factions, Khanna said, presenting the convicted militant as a unifying figure despite his record. Hes seen as non-corrupt, a strong leader, and secular. Barghouti could deliver a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel.
Barghouti was convicted by an Israeli court in 2004 on five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, including the killing of a Greek Orthodox monk and four others, and received five consecutive life sentences plus additional prison time. Khanna acknowledged these convictions but insisted that freeing Barghouti would serve a broader political purpose.
Releasing Barghouti does not provide him with a pardon or moral absolution of crimes he may have committed, Khanna said, while citing activist claims to cast doubt on the trials fairness. In fact, a number of human rights groups say he did not even receive a fair trial. But the release is needed to move peace forward, just like Arafat and Rabin worked for peace despite their pasts.
Khanna further likened Barghoutis potential role to that of former Irish Republican Army figures who later entered politics. The Irish Republic Army, the IRA, did terrible things in its war against British and Protestant domination, he said. But when the IRA said they had a vision of equality and coexistence, letting them participate in politics was the right decision. Barghouti has said exactly that, repeatedly.
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