Prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti assaulted three times in a month, family says

"He's someone who represents hope for unity, for democratic renewal, for a better future for the Palestinian people," he said. "He's a target because he gives hope to the Palestinian people."The Israeli lawyer, Ben Marmarelli, visited Marwan Barghouti in prison on Sunday.He wrote on X that, three weeks earlier, guards entered his client's cell in Megiddo prison and repeatedly attacked him with a guard dog. He said that he was then beaten during his transfer to another Israeli jail.One week ago, in Ganot Prison, Marmarelli said that Barghouti was "severely beaten and left bleeding for more than two hours. He requested medical care and was denied treatment".The IPS said it was "not aware of any incidents as described, and to the best of our knowledge, no such acts have occurred in its facilities"."All inmates receive medical treatment in accordance with the professional judgement of medical officials and subject to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health," it wrote in a statement.Since the deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the Gaza War, UN agencies and Israeli rights groups have reported an increase in claims of abuse of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including routine beatings, sexual violence, starvation and severe medical negligence. Dozens of Palestinians are reported to have died in detention as a result.Human rights groups put this down to an established Israeli policy, pointing out how some Israeli officials, including the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have called for harsher conditions.Last year, the United Nations Committee against Torture said it was deeply concerned about reports indicating a "de facto state policy of organised and widespread torture and ill treatment" of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.The IPS denies claims of systematic abuse and states that incidents of individual misconduct are investigated.In September, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that Israeli prisons were failing to provide enough food for Palestinian inmates and ordered conditions be improved.There are currently 9,560 Palestinians held in jail whom Israel classes as security prisoners, according to IPS figures. They include more than 3,500 in administrative detention without trial or charge.Marwan Barghouti is understood to have been kept in solitary confinement for the past two-and-a-half years. His family says he has previously been severely beaten by Israeli guards, and that on one occasion he suffered four broken ribs and head injuries.Last year, Ben-Gvir shared a short clip on social media of him confronting Marwan Barghouti in his cell.It was the first time that the famous prisoner had been seen publicly in years, and he appeared aged and gaunt.