Shortly after the family of prisoner Marwan Barghouti announced his intention to run in next year's Palestinian presidential elections, he suffered a new physical assault inside his cell in Israeli prisons.

This assault comes amid escalating violations against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, especially since the start of the war on Gaza.

According to what Barghouti's family reported from his lawyer, who visited him days ago in the Negev desert prison, a guard burst into his cell and fired a rubber bullet at his leg, causing a severe wound resulting in bleeding.

A few months ago, extremist Israeli Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben Gvir had broken into Barghouti's cell - Barghouti is a member of Fatah's Central Committee - and issued serious threats against him.

Less than two months ago, a guard threw a stun grenade at Barghouti, causing burns on one of his hands. It is noted that he has been held in solitary confinement since the outbreak of the war on Gaza.

Calls for international pressure on Israel

The family of the Palestinian leader said it has contacted regional and international parties to demand pressure on the Israeli government to stop the assaults on Barghouti, warning that they 'pose a threat to his life.'

Lawyer Fadwa Barghouti explained in a statement on Monday that the assault on the Palestinian prisoner coincided with a media campaign by the Israeli government against him.

She added: 'In a new attempt to harm Marwan, the Israeli Prison Service issued an inflammatory report coinciding with the expansion of the international campaign titled 'Freedom for Marwan, Freedom for Palestine,' which has attracted global figures and leaders and received significant official and public response worldwide. A guard fired a rubber bullet at Marwan's leg, causing bleeding and a painful injury, in a new episode of the ongoing assaults against him.'

The lawyer continued: 'What the occupation has failed to realize over a quarter of a century, and still does not realize today, is that Marwan has never retreated from his conviction that freedom is a right and that the occupation is doomed.'

Earlier on Sunday, the Arab League strongly condemned 'the repeated and systematic brutal assaults to which the prisoner-leader Marwan Barghouti (Abu al-Qassam), one of the most prominent symbols of the Palestinian movement, is subjected by the Israeli occupation authorities inside its prisons.'

The Arab League referred to the statement it received from the wife of prisoner Marwan Barghouti, following his lawyer's visit last Thursday, which revealed a new heinous crime: five days ago, a rubber bullet was fired at his foot from point-blank range below the knee, causing severe bleeding and a serious injury.

Candidacy for the Palestinian presidential elections

Earlier this month, informed sources told Al-Sharq that Barghouti decided to run in the Palestinian presidential elections scheduled for next year, noting that his formation of a bloc to contest the legislative elections depends on the issuance of a presidential decree that cancels a previous condition for running in the presidential elections, which is that the candidate must obtain the support of a parliamentary bloc.

The sources stated that Barghouti's supporters will form an independent bloc under his name to contest the legislative elections if this condition is not canceled.

Barghouti has been imprisoned in Israel since 2002 and is serving five life sentences plus 25 years.

The video clip that Ben Gvir published of Barghouti in August 2025 is his first public appearance in over a decade.

This incident comes amid a growing international campaign under the slogan 'Freedom for Marwan, Freedom for Palestine,' which has been joined by global figures, increasing pressure on Israel. Barghouti is also considered one of the most prominent symbols of the Palestinian movement, making these assaults an attempt to silence an opposition voice inside the prisons.