Top Palestinian leader 'beaten unconscious in Israeli prison'

"What we know is that while they were transferring my father, they stopped along the way and eight security guards that worked for the prison authority started beating my father up in different ways, by kicking him, by [throwing] him on the ground, by punching him, focusing on the head area, chest area and legs as well," he said, adding his father had later told his fellow prisoners he lost consciousness as a result of the attack.

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"The released detainees say that when he came to Megiddo he could barely walk and he could barely walk for days," he said.

Arab Barghouti said it was the fourth time his father had been beaten over the past two years. He has been held in solitary confinement since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 that ignited the Gaza war and is a member of the Fatah party, a bitter rival of Hamas.

The Asra Media Office, which covers Palestinian prisoner issues, said Barghouti had “lost consciousness and suffered fractures in four ribs as a result of the beating”.