Trump’s Barghouti Gambit: A Dangerous Play for Peace (Daled Amos) ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Friday, October 24, 2025

Trump’s Barghouti Gambit: A Dangerous Play for Peace (Daled Amos)

By Daled Amos

Maybe it was inevitable.

Maybe it was only a matter of time before Trump decided to push Israel in the direction he wanted. After all, he wouldn't be the first US president to pressure Israel. On the other hand, he may be the first president to be so blunt about it.

TIME Magazine did an interview with the US president on October 15 and published it on Thursday. One of the questions was whether he thought Israel should release terrorist leader Marwan Barghouti:

TIME: Well, Marwan Barghouti is seen by many as the one figure who could unite Palestinians behind a two-state solution. He tops most polls amongst Palestinians for whom they would vote for in a presidential election. But he’s in prison, and Israel has refused to let him out. He was arrested in 2002. Ron Lauder, a big support of yours, recently encouraged Israel to let him out. Do you think Israel should release him from prison?

Trump: I am literally being confronted with that question about 15 minutes before you called. That was the question. That was my question of the day. So I’ll be making a decision.

I'll be making a decision...?

Besides the fact that this is not his decision to make, there is an implication that the US president is willing to apply pressure on Netanyahu to release a convicted terrorist to further his own personal plans for peace...and for a potential Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump is already getting plenty of cover from Ronald Lauder for pressuring Israel. Lauder is the president of the World Jewish Congress, besides being a Trump ally. He was very clear on his support for Barghouti's release:

I think that the fact that he's thinking about it is a great step in the right direction. A two-state solution is only possible if you have a good leader and Marwan Barghouti will be the right leader for it. Now it doesn't have to happen in one or two years–it could be three, four or five years, whatever time it takes. But once you start having peace between Israel and the Palestinian people, you have the future of a peaceful Middle East.

Perhaps Trump views Barghouti the way Reuters does. The headline of the Reuters report on Trump's comment was Trump mulls whether Israel should free jailed Palestinian political figure. But Barghouti is not some jailed politician, and Lauder should know better than to publicly challenge Israel's security interests.

Barghouti is currently serving multiple life sentences for his 2004 conviction in connection with attacks in Israel that killed five people. He is a senior member of Fatah and former chief of its Tanzim militant faction, playing a key role in the Second Intifada.There are security issues at stake that are for Israel, and only for Israel, to decide.

In addition to Lauder, Barghouti's wife urged Trump to push for his release after hearing that he is ready to make a decision.

This follows the push in Israel for the annexation of the West Bank. In that same TIME interview, Trump said:

[The annexation] won't happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. It will not happen. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.

The US president believes he has a say in Israel's plans for annexation since it directly impacts both the peace process that the US is invested in and the agreements that he has made with various Arab leaders. But insisting on freeing a terrorist leader is an entirely different story. We all know that Trump is not a polished impromtu speaker. It is unilikely he would force Israel's hand on such a release. That may explain why there has not been an outpouring of indignation from Israel in response to Trump's comment.

But Barghouti is not a “political figure.” He’s a convicted murderer who orchestrated the killing of innocent Israelis. To even entertain the idea of his release is to erase the line between diplomacy and delusion.