Meet Marwan Barghouti, Serial Killer and Possible Palestinian President

The most popular potential leader of a future Palestinian state is Marwan Barghouti.

He isn’t hiding in a tunnel in Gaza, like Yahya Sinwar, nor living the life of Riley in a luxury hotel in Doha like Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Moussa abu Marzouk, and Khaled Meshaal. Nor is he living in a $13 million presidential palace in Ramallah like Mahmoud Abbas.

No, he’s in an Israeli prison, and has been for decades. That makes him a hero in the eyes of most Palestinians. Barghouti, you see, was convicted of masterminding the murders of Israelis and sentenced to five life terms.

And that is one of the reasons for his popularity: he’s a real killer of Israelis, and has spent 33 years in an Israeli prison to prove it.

Why does the Western press anoint Barghouti as the best candidate to become head of the Palestinian Authority after Mahmoud Abbas retires or, more likely, dies? Because, as noted above, he isn’t corrupt. The Western journalists fail to recognize that he’s not corrupt only because he hasn’t had a chance; there is no reason to think he would not follow in the footsteps of Mahmoud Abbas (who together with his sons Yasser and Tareq has accumulated a family fortune worth $400 million), or the three Hamas leaders Khaled Meshaal ($4 billion), Ismail Haniyeh ($4 billion) and Mousa abu Marzouk ($3 billion). And he has Palestinian street cred — the kind that 33 years in an Israeli prison can provide.

Incredibly, many of these Barghouti enthusiasts make no mention at all of the innocent people he was convicted of murdering. That’s like murdering them twice.

This is what most endears him to the Palestinian street. The blood of innocent Israeli victims on his hands is precisely what makes him such a popular figure. He not only called for the murder of Israelis, but actually masterminded the murders of four Israelis and a Greek priest mistakenly taken for a Jew.

A second reason is that unlike the three Hamas leaders — Haniyeh, Marzouk and Meshaal —and the rais in Ramallah, 88-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, Barghouti hasn’t stolen billions of dollars from aid meant for the Palestinians because, of course, behind bars he hasn’t had that opportunity.

More on this serial killer so beloved of the Palestinians can be found here:

The Serial Killer Who Might Be the First President of Palestine

by Moshe Phillips, JNS.org, February 22, 2024

A Greek Orthodox priest named Georgios Tsibouktzakis was murdered for the crime of driving while mistakenly being perceived as Jewish. And now his killer is being widely touted as the likely first president of “Palestine.”

In recent weeks, pundits in The New York Times, The Guardian and other news outlets have promoted Marwan Barghouti as the best candidate to replace Mahmoud Abbas as head of the Palestinian Authority and then become the first president of the “Palestine” that they hope to establish.

Incredibly, many of these Barghouti enthusiasts make no mention at all of the innocent people he was convicted of murdering. That’s like murdering them twice. Here’s some information on one of Barghouti’s victims.

Georgios Tsibouktzakis was born and raised in the picturesque northern Greek town of Evosmos, a name that means “pleasant scent.” Among its notable sites is the Agios Athanasios Church, which is more than 200 years old.

The Tsibouktzakis family must have been impoverished because upon completing primary school, at age 12, Georgios set aside his studies and found a job in a local fabric factory.

At some point, young Georgios experienced a religious awakening. He adopted an extremely humble lifestyle, giving away his belongings, including his most precious possession—his bicycle—and entering a Greek Orthodox religious order.

After studying at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Georgios decided to go to Israel. And why not? Christianity was born in the Land of Israel. The Christian Bible is filled with references to Judea (although there is no mention of “Palestine,” for some reason). As a devout man of faith, he wanted to spend the rest of his life in the Holy Land.

In 1990, Georgios arrived in Israel and resumed his religious studies at a local Greek Orthodox seminary. After three years, he became a monk and was given the name Father Germanos. Eventually, he was ordained a priest and deacon. He was assigned to live at St. George’s Monastery.

Read more.