Sheikh Omar Barghouti dies of COVID-19 at age of 67

Palestinian resistance icon Sheikh Omar Barghouti has died today of COVID-19 at the age of 67, as he was diagnosed with the virus several days ago and his condition deteriorated quickly.

Barghouti is from the town of Kobar near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Sheikh Omar Barghouti, or “Mountain of Palestine” as Palestinians call him, is an ex-prisoner, served a total of 30 years in Israeli prison, 13 of which were under administrative detention.

One of Barghouti’s sons got killed by the Israeli occupation forces, Saleh, and another, Assem, has been detained in the Israeli prisons.

Barghouti’s brother is the former longest-serving Palestinian prisoner, Na’el Barghouti, who spent 34 years in occupation jails.

Both Omar and his older brother, Na’el, had been kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces on April, 4, 1978, while still in high school and were both given life sentences.

But in 1985, Abu Asef was released in a prisoner-swap deal.

Since then, he has been repeatedly held in administrative detention for several years.

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