“Mr. President, there is a true partner waiting for you — someone who can help realize the shared dream of a just and lasting peace in the region,” Fadwa Barghouti said in a statement to Time magazine. “For the freedom of the Palestinian people and the peace of future generations, help release Marwan Barghouti.”
Trump made his comments in an interview with Time, when he was asked whether he would support the release of Barghouti, who has long been viewed, by Palestinians and some diplomats, as a potential leader.
“I’m literally facing this question about 15 minutes before you call. That was the question. That was my question for today. So I’m going to make a decision,” he said.
Barghouti, 66 years old, has been detained in Israeli prisons since 2002, and in 2004 he was sentenced to five life imprisonment.
Trump, who has been credited with bringing about a ceasefire in Gaza, faces the more complex task of crafting a post-war governance framework for Gaza’s population of about two million people.
His peace initiative, backed by several Arab governments, represents a turning point in the broader political debate over the future of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, where about 3 million other Palestinians live.
Despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s categorical opposition to the two-state solution, Trump’s statements regarding Barghouti’s fate raised new hopes that the US president, who described himself as the one who forced Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire, might intervene again.
Among those encouraging him to take this step was Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and a Trump confidant, who called for Barghouti’s release.
“Just the fact that he is thinking about it is an excellent step in the right direction,” Lauder told TIME. “A two-state solution can only be achieved with a good leader, and Marwan Barghouti would be the right leader for that. It doesn’t have to happen in a year or two — it could take three, four, five years, but once peace begins between Israel and the Palestinian people, the future of the Middle East will be more stable.”
When asked why Israel continues to detain Barghouti, Lauder replied: “Because they know he will be a successful statesman. The people they released are much worse than him.”
TIME has requested comment from the Israeli government, but has not yet received a response.
