The Israeli military court of Ofer rejected today a petition to release Palestinian prisoner Nael Barghouti, 65, the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails, who has been in prison for 42 years.
The court also decided to fix Barghouti’s original sentence of a life term plus 18 years in prison under the pretext that a ‘secret file’ has been submitted against him against him by the Israeli intelligence.
Barghouti, who hails from the village of Kobar in Ramallah province, was first arrested in 1978 for resisting the Israeli occupation and then sentenced to a life term plus 18 years.
After serving 34 years in prison, he was freed in October 2011 in a prisoner exchange deal and returned to his village and family.
On 18 In June 2014, the Israeli occupation authorities reneged on the terms of the exchange deal and re-arrested Barghouti. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and after completing his term and instead of releasing him, Israel reinstated his original life plus 18 years sentence.
Barghouti is actually one of dozens of Palestinian prisoners released in the exchange deal, which Israel has reneged on, re-arrested, and then reinstated their original terms.
There are more than 4,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails for their resistance of the Israeli occupation of their homeland.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency