Three sources “familiar with the matter,” told the Times of Israel on Oct. 12 that during the Sharm el-Sheikh talks in Egypt, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder lobbied for Israel to release Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti as part of the Gaza peace deal. Lauder reportedly offered to travel to Sharm el-Sheikh, where negotiations on the agreement were being finalized last week, in order to make the case for including Barghouti on the list of 250 prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails, who will be released in exchange for the remaining 48 hostages held in Gaza, according to a senior Arab official, an Israeli official, and a third source.
The idea was nixed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office amid overwhelming opposition to releasing Barghouti, 66, among Israeli cabinet ministers who signed off on the deal, the three sources said. Nonetheless, if what the Times of Israel reported about Lauder is true, it would be remarkable. EIR has identified Lauder as a major funder of Netanyahu’s Likud Party more than 20 years ago, including at least one election campaign of Netanyahu himself.
Other prominent individuals are also arguing for Barghouti’s release. One was former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon, who told the daily Haaretz earlier this year that Israel should release Barghouti as part of a hostage-release deal to end the Gaza war, because “Marwan is the only Palestinian leader who can be elected and lead a united and legitimate Palestinian leadership toward a path of mutually agreed separation from Israel.” Israeli negotiator and peace activist Gershon Baskin has also been lobbying for Barghouti’s release, as stated on his Substack page last week.
