Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir entered the solitary confinement wing of Ganot prison earlier this week and confronted long-imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, according to footage he released on 15 August. In the 13-second clip the minister tells the shackled inmate, “You will not win. Anyone who murders our children or women, we will wipe him out,” before cutting off Barghouti’s reply. The video offers the first public images in years of the 66-year-old Fatah official, who appears noticeably gaunt. Barghouti has been held since 2002 and is serving five consecutive life terms plus 40 years for attacks during the second Palestinian intifada, charges he denies. Opinion surveys routinely rank him as the most popular Palestinian politician and a potential successor to President Mahmoud Abbas. Ramallah’s Foreign Ministry called Ben-Gvir’s remarks a “direct threat” to Barghouti’s life, while Palestinian Vice-President Hussein al-Sheikh urged international organisations to intervene to protect detainees. UN envoy Riyad Mansour and the Islamist movement Hamas issued their own condemnations, and Barghouti’s family said the footage underscores his deteriorating health after prolonged isolation. A spokesman for Ben-Gvir confirmed the visit and authenticity of the recording but rejected accusations of incitement. The episode, coming a day after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed to “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state, has further strained relations as Israel’s war in Gaza and rising West Bank violence continue to erode prospects for renewed diplomacy.