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Imprisoned Palestinian Leader’s Entry Shakes up Planned Vote

Marwan Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, leaves the Palestinian Central Election Commission office after registering her husband’s list for the upcoming parliamentary election in May, in Ramallah on March 31, 2021. (AP)
Marwan Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, leaves the Palestinian Central Election Commission office after registering her husband’s list for the upcoming parliamentary election in May, in Ramallah on March 31, 2021. (AP)
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Imprisoned Palestinian Leader’s Entry Shakes up Planned Vote

Marwan Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, leaves the Palestinian Central Election Commission office after registering her husband’s list for the upcoming parliamentary election in May, in Ramallah on March 31, 2021. (AP)
Marwan Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, leaves the Palestinian Central Election Commission office after registering her husband’s list for the upcoming parliamentary election in May, in Ramallah on March 31, 2021. (AP)

A popular Palestinian leader imprisoned by Israel has registered his own parliamentary list in May elections, his supporters said Wednesday, in a last-minute shakeup that could severely weaken President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party and help its militant Hamas rivals.

Marwan Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, registered the list hours before the deadline set by the election commission. Polls indicate it would split the vote for Fatah, potentially paving the way for another major victory by Hamas. That increases the likelihood that Abbas will find a way to call off the first Palestinian elections in 15 years.

Barghouti, 61, a former Fatah militant commander, is serving five life sentences in Israel following a 2004 terrorism conviction. But he remains a popular and charismatic leader, and by breaking with Abbas he could reshape Palestinian politics and potentially replace him as president.

His entry reflects growing frustration with Abbas, who has presided over an increasingly authoritarian and unpopular Palestinian Authority that has failed to achieve national unity or advance Palestinian hopes for an independent state.

It’s unclear how Barghouti’s rise would affect relations with Israel. Both he and Abbas want a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, but there have been no substantive peace talks in over a decade. Israel is unlikely to release Barghouti regardless of his political fortunes, and may refuse to engage with a leader it views as a terrorist.

Abbas has decreed parliamentary and presidential elections for May and July this year, the first since 2006, when the Hamas group won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections. That precipitated a crisis that led to Hamas’ seizure of Gaza from Abbas’s forces the following year, leaving the West Bank and Gaza divided between rival governments.

Abbas decreed the election in January in a step meant to help heal the division. It now remains to be seen whether the elections will actually be held, given the long-running feud between Fatah and Hamas — and the widening divisions within Fatah.

An opinion poll carried out by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research earlier this month found that a separate list endorsed by Barghouti would split the Fatah vote and potentially garner more support than the official list.

“Barghouti running would dramatically change the outcome,” the center’s director Khalil Shikaki said last week when the results of the poll were published.

If Barghouti runs for president in elections planned for this summer, he would easily defeat both Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, according to the poll, which surveyed 1,200 Palestinians with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Barghouti, 61 has flirted with a run in the past but eventually ended up endorsing Abbas, who was elected to a four-year term in 2005 but has remained in power since then.

This time Barghouti will partner with Nasser Al-Kidwa, the 67-year-old nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for a list called “Freedom.” Al-Kidwa was kicked out of Fatah in early March after announcing he would run on his own list.

“We hope that this list will lead to democracy,” Fadwa Barghouti said. “We registered this list and we hope it will succeed.”

Earlier, senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub submitted the party’s official list.

He said the elections would be held in “all the Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem,” which Israel annexed and considers part of its capital. He also predicted the elections would lead to a national unity government that would end the rift.

“We seek to win the elections in the spirit of democracy, and we will respect the results,” he added.

Another list, known as “Future,” has been registered by supporters of Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official who had a falling-out with Abbas and is now based in the United Arab Emirates. He is also expected to drain support from Fatah.

The fracturing of Fatah severely weakens Abbas and could pave the way for the far more disciplined and unified Hamas — which is running on one list — to emerge as the largest Palestinian party. Abbas could postpone or cancel the elections, but that would risk censure from the United States and European nations, which provide vital aid to the Palestinian Authority and have long called for free and fair elections.

East Jerusalem could provide a pretext for canceling or postponing the elections. Israel bars the PA from operating there and has not said whether it will allow voting in the city.

Tensions are already rising in the occupied West Bank. In the Qalandia refugee camp near Jerusalem, dozens of Fatah gunmen fired automatic weapons into the air Wednesday night to protest the expected makeup of the official party list, which they said did not represent them.

Barghouti led Fatah’s militant wing during the intifada, or uprising, that erupted in 2000 amid the breakdown of the peace process. He condemned attacks targeting civilians inside Israel, though Israel says he is responsible for civilian deaths.

The uprising saw Palestinians carry out suicide bombings and other attacks against Israeli civilians as the Israeli military launched deadly raids in the West Bank and Gaza. More than 6,000 Palestinians and over 1,000 Israelis were killed, with the unrest tapering off after 2005.

Israeli troops arrested Barghouti in 2002, at the height of the uprising, and two years later a military court convicted him of orchestrating attacks that killed five people, giving him an equivalent number of life sentences. Barghouti refused to recognize the Israeli military court or offer any defense.

Many Palestinians view Barghouti as a revolutionary leader in the mold of Nelson Mandela or Fidel Castro, unsullied by the corruption of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority or the long-running feud between Fatah and Hamas. As a long-jailed militant, he is seen as having sacrificed his freedom for the cause of Palestinian independence.

From behind bars, he has continued to call for a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands Israel seized in the 1967 war. Polls consistently show him to be the most popular Palestinian leader, with support from across the political spectrum.

In 2017, Barghouti led more than 1,500 prisoners in a 40-day hunger strike to demand better conditions inside Israeli jails. Most Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel as heroes to their cause, and the strike bolstered Barghouti’s image.

Israel considers Barghouti and other Palestinians jailed for security offenses to be terrorists and has given no indication it would free him. He was not included in a group of more than 1,000 high-profile prisoners who were released in 2011 in a deal with Hamas in exchange for an Israeli soldier captured by militants and held in Gaza for more than five years.

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Arab World

Paris Meeting Sets Three Priorities to Back Lebanese Army

A convoy of the Spanish battalion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon passes through Qlayaa in southern Lebanon on Oct. 12, 2024 (DPA)
A convoy of the Spanish battalion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon passes through Qlayaa in southern Lebanon on Oct. 12, 2024 (DPA)
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Paris Meeting Sets Three Priorities to Back Lebanese Army

A convoy of the Spanish battalion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon passes through Qlayaa in southern Lebanon on Oct. 12, 2024 (DPA)
A convoy of the Spanish battalion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon passes through Qlayaa in southern Lebanon on Oct. 12, 2024 (DPA)

Paris will host a four party meeting on Thursday bringing together representatives of France, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Lebanon, amid fears that an Israeli escalation could upend a ceasefire agreement in place for more than a year.

French officials say Paris senses an imminent threat facing Lebanon in light of repeated and public Israeli threats to resume the war.

France is also concerned about uncertainty surrounding the US position on Israel’s intentions, with a prevailing French view that President Donald Trump’s administration is not inclined to restrain Israel.

Israel accuses the Lebanese army of failing to carry out commitments made by the government under the first phase of a plan to disarm Hezbollah in the area south of the Litani River.

Caught between Israeli pressure on one side and Hezbollah’s refusal to hand over its weapons on the other, Paris has been searching for a way out and for a clear, visible means of protecting Lebanon.

French officials want to demonstrate that the Lebanese army, contrary to prevailing claims, is doing what is required of it regarding Hezbollah’s weapons.

A new mechanism to track disarmament

Against this backdrop, France has put forward a proposal to establish a new “mechanism” to clearly document the actions taken by the Lebanese army, based on tangible and verifiable evidence.

Paris has also suggested that elements of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, accompany army units during inspection and seizure operations, document them and make the results public. The aim is to provide concrete proof of the army’s seriousness and of the outcomes achieved.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot summed up the proposal by saying France is “working on a second mechanism to monitor the disarmament of Hezbollah.”

A large scale tour organized by the army leadership in the south on Dec. 15, led by army commander General Rodolphe Haykal and attended by several ambassadors and military attachés, along with an earlier visit by representatives of UN Security Council member states and a separate tour for Lebanese and international media, were all part of efforts to show the government’s and the army’s commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and to rebut claims of government foot dragging and military shortcomings.

In recent weeks, Paris has stepped up its engagement on the Lebanese file. Thursday’s meeting caps a diplomatic push that has included, in less than a month, two visits by Anne Claire Legendre, President Emmanuel Macron’s adviser for Middle East and Arab affairs, and Jean-Yves Le Drian, a former foreign minister and Macron’s personal envoy to Lebanon.

As part of this effort, Legendre has made regional visits, most notably to Saudi Arabia.

Macron himself has held a series of key calls focused on two tracks: a conference expected in the coming weeks to support the Lebanese army and security forces, and a separate conference on economic support and reconstruction.

No dates have yet been set for either event.

Importance of Haykal’s participation

Well informed sources in Paris say Thursday’s meeting will focus on three main priorities.

The first is reviewing the work of the “mechanism” tasked with monitoring the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon, and considering how to enhance it through the new mechanism outlined by Barrot.

Another development concerns the mechanism’s expanded membership, which now includes a Lebanese diplomat, former ambassador Simon Karam, and an Israeli representative, Yuri Resnik, director of foreign policy at Israel’s National Security Council.

Israel and Washington are pressing to broaden the scope of discussions to include economic and political issues, a move that has raised Lebanese concerns and drawn opposition from Hezbollah.

US envoy for Lebanon Morgan Ortagus and Le Drian, both attending the Paris meeting, are expected to travel to Lebanon afterward to take part in a meeting of the mechanism.

That adds to the importance of the five party committee, which has failed, more than a year after its creation, to halt near daily Israeli operations.

The US ambassador to Beirut, Michel Issa, will also attend Thursday’s meeting, his first such gathering since formally taking up his post.

Curbing Israeli escalation in Lebanon is the second priority of the meeting, which Haykal will attend alongside a series of engagements at the foreign ministry, defense ministry and presidential palace.

Haykal’s participation is seen as especially significant, as it will give him the opportunity to present a comprehensive account of the difficulties facing army units in carrying out their missions, foremost among them Israel’s refusal to withdraw from five additional positions it still holds on Lebanese territory.

The Lebanese army commander is also expected to outline the achievements of his forces over the past four months south of the Litani River, as well as his plan for other parts of Lebanon, aimed at restricting weapons to the hands of the Lebanese state.

Attention will also focus on Ortagus’s presentation on US plans for Lebanon, including efforts to push Lebanon toward negotiations with Israel on political and economic issues, as well as the timelines Washington is setting for Lebanon to complete the process of placing weapons exclusively under state control.

The long awaited army support conference

The central theme of Thursday’s Paris meeting, however, is expected to be support for the Lebanese army and security forces as an essential preparatory step that cannot be bypassed ahead of the long promised conference to back the army.

Two key questions remain unanswered: where the conference will be held, whether in Paris or another capital, and when it will take place. It had previously been expected before the end of the year, but that now appears unlikely.

Paris does not hide its concern that confidence in Lebanon has been badly damaged in the past, not only among potential donors in the Gulf but also elsewhere.

As a result, external parties are increasingly insisting on evaluating results and are linking military and economic assistance to concrete outcomes, whether on the security front or in economic reforms.

Another issue that could make its way onto the Paris agenda is the Lebanese Syrian border, which has seen sporadic tensions. Paris believes the border needs to be demarcated to prevent it from being used by Hezbollah as an additional justification for retaining its weapons.

France says it is ready to help both Lebanon and Syria, but stresses the need to rebuild trust between the two. Lebanon wants assurances that Syria will not again become a party that routinely violates its sovereignty, while Damascus fears Hezbollah could play a destabilizing role inside Syria.

Arab World

Damascus Foils New Weapons Smuggling Attempt into Lebanon

Missiles intended for smuggling found by Syrian forces (Syrian Interior Ministry X Account)
Missiles intended for smuggling found by Syrian forces (Syrian Interior Ministry X Account)
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Damascus Foils New Weapons Smuggling Attempt into Lebanon

Missiles intended for smuggling found by Syrian forces (Syrian Interior Ministry X Account)
Missiles intended for smuggling found by Syrian forces (Syrian Interior Ministry X Account)

The new Syrian government is stepping up an aggressive campaign to seal its border with Lebanon, seeking to dismantle smuggling routes that under Bashar al-Assad’s rule served as a critical lifeline for Hezbollah, channeling weapons and money from Iran.

In this context, the Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday that the Internal Security Directorate in the Zabadani area of the Damascus countryside had thwarted an attempt to smuggle a shipment of weapons bound for Lebanon.

The ministry said in a statement published on its Telegram channel that, following close security surveillance of those involved, security forces carried out a tightly planned ambush in the border town of Serghaya, which falls under the Zabadani area, leading to the seizure of the shipment.

It said the cache included large quantities of RPG shells that had been carefully concealed in preparation for smuggling across the border.

The statement said the seized weapons were confiscated in accordance with legal procedures and transferred to the relevant authorities to take the necessary legal action. It added that the operation was part of ongoing efforts by the Interior Ministry to combat smuggling, secure the borders, and protect national security and stability.

Since the overthrow of the Assad regime on Dec. 8 last year, and the near complete end of Iran’s military presence and that of Hezbollah fighters on Syrian territory, the new authorities have sought to tighten control over borders with neighboring countries.

These efforts include pursuing drug smuggling networks, remnants of the Assad regime, and preventing weapons smuggling.

Over the past year since Syria’s liberation, the new authorities have announced the foiling of numerous attempts to smuggle weapons into Lebanon.

Informed sources in the western Qalamoun region along the Lebanese border near the Bekaa said the new Syrian authorities were making sustained efforts to control the border and prevent smuggling in all its forms.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Syrian authorities currently control most of the border with Lebanon, but said this did not mean all smuggling routes had been sealed.

They noted that Hezbollah, even before the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in 2011 and during years of fighting alongside the Assad regime, built weapons depots and supply tunnels in border areas with the Bekaa, including western Qalamoun, which includes the Zabadani area.

The sources said the new authorities had seized a large number of those depots during their operations, confiscated the weapons inside them, and destroyed supply tunnels.

However, they said most of the depots built by Hezbollah inside Syrian territory were not visible, suggesting that a number of them may not yet have been discovered.

Observers say that following the end of Hezbollah’s presence, and that of Iran, in Syria, the group is attempting through sleeper cells inside Syrian territory to smuggle what remains of its weapons stockpiles from undiscovered depots.

They said this comes amid a decline in Hezbollah’s military capabilities after the war waged against it by Israel last year, and amid reports raising the possibility of a new Israeli war against the group.

In September last year, the head of internal security in the Damascus countryside, Brigadier General Ahmed al-Dalati, said specialized units, in cooperation with the General Intelligence Service, had arrested a Hezbollah cell operating in the towns of Saasaa and Kanaker in western Damascus countryside after close surveillance and intensive fieldwork.

Al-Dalati said initial investigations showed that members of the cell had received training in camps inside Lebanese territory and were planning to carry out operations inside Syria that would threaten the security and stability of citizens.

He said the operation led to the seizure of rocket launch platforms, 19 Grad rockets, anti armor missiles, individual weapons, and large quantities of assorted ammunition.

The case was referred to the competent authorities to pursue legal procedures, while security agencies continued interrogations to uncover all links and objectives, al-Dalati said.

In a separate incident, the Internal Security Directorate in the Qusayr area of the Homs countryside seized a shipment of Kornet missiles on Oct. 11 that was being prepared for smuggling out of the country.

The missiles were being transported on two motorcycles, in the second such operation within two weeks.

The Interior Ministry said at the time that the seizure followed precise intelligence gathering and continuous monitoring of illegal weapons sources, resulting in the full confiscation of the shipment.

It said investigations were ongoing to identify all those involved, determine the sources of the weapons, and take deterrent legal action.

On Nov. 10, Internal Security Command in Homs province arrested a suspect identified as A.S. on charges of trafficking weapons and ammunition, following close field surveillance.

An official statement said the arrest came after precise information was received indicating his involvement in the trade of anti armor missiles and assorted ammunition.

Security sources said units recently discovered a warehouse in the Homs countryside containing light and medium weapons and assorted ammunition. The cache was being used as a supply source for outlawed groups seeking to destabilize the area, according to Sham News Network.

Additional quantities of weapons were also found distributed among villages and towns in western Homs countryside. The weapons were confiscated in accordance with legal regulations after it was determined they had been carefully concealed.

The directorate said the operations fall within the Interior Ministry’s strategy to secure borders and combat smuggling, in a way that supports national security and enhances stability along the border areas with Lebanon.

Arab World

Lebanese Army Discovers Hezbollah Tunnel in South

Lebanese army members stand on a military vehicle during a Lebanese army media tour, to review the army's operations in the southern Litani sector, in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, November 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Lebanese army members stand on a military vehicle during a Lebanese army media tour, to review the army's operations in the southern Litani sector, in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, November 28, 2025. (Reuters)
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Lebanese Army Discovers Hezbollah Tunnel in South

Lebanese army members stand on a military vehicle during a Lebanese army media tour, to review the army's operations in the southern Litani sector, in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, November 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Lebanese army members stand on a military vehicle during a Lebanese army media tour, to review the army's operations in the southern Litani sector, in Alma Al-Shaab, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, November 28, 2025. (Reuters)

The Lebanese army has uncovered a tunnel built by Hezbollah in the southern town of Touline after carrying out an excavation at the request of the ceasefire oversight committee known as the Mechanism, Lebanese media reported. The site had previously been struck by an Israeli attack, according to the reports.

This was not the first time the Lebanese army has inspected sites at the request of the Mechanism or following Israeli threats, as part of coordination between the military, the committee overseeing the cessation of hostilities and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

A similar inspection took place last week when the army conducted a thorough search of a building in the southern town of Yanouh after Israel threatened to strike the house.

No weapons were found. After the Lebanese army deployed, the Israeli military announced it had temporarily suspended the strike it had threatened on what it described as Hezbollah military infrastructure in the town.

The developments came as Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon continued, with an air raid on Wednesday hitting the town of Kfar Kila. No casualties were reported, said the state-run National News Agency.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri described the Mechanism as a “platform for discussion and a framework for oversight and verification of compliance with agreements”, stressing that Lebanon has adhered to its commitments since the first day of the 2024 ceasefire, while Israeli violations have continued.

On Hezbollah’s weapons, Mitri said during the opening session of the eighth conference of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut that Lebanese army commander General Rodolphe Haykal had proposed a five-phase plan starting with strengthening the army’s capabilities.

He stressed that extending state authority in the area surrounding the Litani River was making gradual progress, with the army nearing completion of its mission south of the Litani in preparation for moving to later phases.

On reconstruction, Mitri added that the international community was making the extension of state authority a key condition for support. He hoped that Arab states would play a supportive role through their international relations.

The developments come ahead of a new meeting of the Mechanism tasked with monitoring the ceasefire, scheduled for Dec. 19.

It will be the second meeting attended by the head of the Lebanese delegation, Ambassador Simon Karam, after his participation alongside an Israeli civilian in the previous session earlier this month, marking the first direct talks between the two countries.

President Joseph Aoun met Karam on Wednesday and provided him with guidance ahead of the meeting.

The ceasefire monitoring committee includes Lebanon, Israel, France, the United States and the United Nations.

The ceasefire agreement stipulates a halt to hostilities, the withdrawal of Hezbollah north of the Litani River, leading to its disarmament across Lebanon, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from positions they occupied during the latest war.

Israel, however, maintains a presence at five “strategic” sites inside Lebanese territory, while Hezbollah refuses to disarm.