Marwan Barghouti Excluded from Gaza Prisoner Exchange

A man walk past a mural depicting the Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti , with a massage that reads in Arabic , “See you soon,” on Israel’s separation barrier in the west bank city of Bathlehem, 20 August 2025.

Marwan Barghouti, the most popular and potentially unifying Palestinian leader, has been excluded from Israel’s latest prisoner release list under the new Gaza ceasefire agreement, officials confirmed.

A list of about 250 Palestinian detainees published on the Israeli government’s website on Friday did not include Barghouti or several other high-profile prisoners long demanded by Hamas. It remains unclear whether the list is final.

Hamas senior official Mousa Abu Marzouk said the group remains firm on securing Barghouti’s release and continues to negotiate through mediators. Israel, however, regards Barghouti as a terrorist. He is serving multiple life sentences after a 2004 conviction for attacks that killed five people.

Analysts believe Israel is reluctant to free Barghouti because of his broad public appeal and potential to reshape Palestinian politics. Often likened to Nelson Mandela, Barghouti is seen by many as a symbol of national unity and a likely successor to the ageing President Mahmoud Abbas.

Under the ceasefire deal that began on Friday, Hamas is to release around 20 Israeli hostages by Monday. In return, Israel will free roughly 250 convicted Palestinians and some 1,700 others detained without charge in recent years.

Many on the release list were jailed during the Second Intifada in the 2000s for attacks on Israelis. Over half are expected to be deported to Gaza or exiled abroad. The list includes Iyad Abu al-Rub, an Islamic Jihad commander convicted over bombings that killed 13 people, and 64-year-old Samir Abu Naama, the oldest prisoner set for release, who was arrested in 1986. The youngest, Mohammed Abu Qatish, was detained at 16 in 2022 for an attempted stabbing.

Barghouti has remained a central figure in prisoner negotiations. During his two decades in Israeli custody, he has sought to bridge Palestinian divisions, notably by registering an electoral list in 2021 and leading a hunger strike for improved prison conditions. His blend of nationalist vision and endorsement of resistance has made him a unifying force among Palestinians—and a potential political challenge for Israel.