The son of Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian prisoner often described as the Nelson Mandela of the Palestinian movement, has called on the British government to put his father’s release at the heart of Palestinian democratic renewal. “Simply saying ‘we support a two-state solution’ without doing anything about it is deepening the problem, because you are just giving the Palestinian people false hopes,” he said. Successive opinion polls have shown he remains the most popular candidate to become president of the Palestinian Authority in succession to Mahmoud Abbas. I would expect the UK government, as an upholder of international law, to go further and call for his release. Asked if the UK supports Barghouti’s release, the Foreign Office in written answers states it supports the International Committee of the Red Cross having access to Palestinian prisoners.

Source: The Guardian February 12, 2026 14:27 UTC