The passage through the Kalandia checkpoint, the main entry point to Jerusalem for residents of the northern West Bank, reveals the place Marwan Barghouti holds in the minds of Palestinians. His profile, drawn on one of the concrete walls enclosing the terminal, appears alongside the portrait of Yasser Arafat (1929-2004), the historic leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). With his head slightly bowed and one hand to his temple, he seems to gaze at the massive inscription to his left calling for his release.

Imprisoned in Israel since 2002 and sentenced two years later to life for his involvement in deadly attacks, Barghouti, 66, is the most famous Palestinian detainee. In popularity polls, this former leader of the Second Intifada consistently outperforms other Palestinian political figures, whether from Fatah – the movement founded by Arafat, like himself – or from the Islamist party Hamas. Cloaked in the aura of a resistance fighter, yet also seen as a shrewd politician, he is regarded as the leading successor to Mahmoud Abbas, the 90-year-old president of the Palestinian Authority.

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