U2 frontman Bono has called for the release of Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti, who is imprisoned in an Israeli jail – saying that “both sides must be represented by leaders seen as legitimate in their own communities”.
The singer shared his stance in The Atlantic, where he wrote a new essay urging for Israel to release the Palestinian prisoner.
Barghouti has been imprisoned since 2002 and was convicted of five counts of murder in 2004. These were in relation to the attacks during the second Palestinian intifada, and, as highlighted by The Irish Independent, he refused to participate in the trial and denied any involvement.
He is serving five life sentences, plus 40 years.
In his essay, Bono said that he was among numerous people who believes that there are “grave concerns about the legitimacy of the trial”, and have concerns for the wellbeing and safety of Barghouti in the prison.
“In recent months, despite reports of a brutal beating that left him unconscious, Israeli officials still refuse to allow Marwan’s family or the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit him and verify his condition, only allowing his lawyer the rarest of visits,” Bono claimed in the piece.
“This is outrageous. The ICRC should be allowed to see him immediately.”
He also added that an organisation of over 180 of the world’s national parliaments, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, have declared that the trial breached international law.
“It should not surprise us, then, that hundreds of artists and activists and others have called on the United Nations to help secure Barghouti’s freedom,” Bono continued, referring to how acts including Fontaines D.C. have also urged for the release of Barghouti.
“Or that the Elders – former world leaders who serve, unofficially, as a collective political conscience—are evoking Mandela and Tutu in urging his release.”
“The Elders, for example, insist that Barghouti be freed so he can play a ‘leadership role’ in reviving a two-state solution and advancing peace, dignity and security for both Israelis and Palestinians,” the essay added.
The U2 singer went on to claim that he thinks the imprisoned man “might be the only man who could credibly claim to represent a broad coalition of Palestinians, who could speak for them at a negotiating table and within their own jagged borders”.
He also compared him to Nelson Mandela, and claimed that, like the former President of South Africa, Barghouti “is a man who has recognised the legitimate existence of the Other”.
“Barghouti is different, and this is why right-wing Israelis, including the prime minister, who fear a two-state solution see him as so dangerous. And why this week National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has gone as far as to suggest Marwan be executed. Let’s be honest…What he really wants is the peace process executed,” Bono then added.
He later closed the essay by writing that Barghouti “stands to be a leader of vision, one with credibility among his own people, and among his adversaries”.
“Both Israelis and Palestinians have an interest in having him take a seat at the negotiating table. Our prayer is that he is physically and mentally healthy enough to do so, and that he and Israel’s leadership are indeed committed to the idea that there is no future for Israel or Palestine alone,” he concluded. “Set him free. And let both sides finally begin again. Again.”
U2 also posted various snippets of the essay on social media, and shared in the caption that the frontman firmly believes that “both sides must be represented by leaders seen as legitimate in their own communities”.
You can read the full essay here.
The piece for The Atlantic comes after Bono claimed in August that the actions by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “now feel like uncharted territory”.
In that post, the singer reiterated his condemnation of Hamas’ “diabolical” and “evil” actions, and also added that “there is no justification for the brutality [Netanyahu] and his far right government have inflicted on the Palestinian people…in Gaza…in the West Bank. And not just since October 7, well before it too.”
Before then, he spoke out at the Ivor Novello Awards in May 2025, and criticised both Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu – calling some of the latter’s ministers as “far-right fundamentalists”.
After the October 2023 attack by Hamas, which killed over 1100 people and saw 250 taken as hostages, Bono paid tribute to the victims while performing with U2 in Las Vegas. He dedicated 1984’s ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ to the victims, while sharing his hopes for a non-violent solution to the conflict.
He would later share his thoughts on what is the best way to achieve freedom “in every part of the world where health and humanity are at risk” in another op-ed for The Atlantic, which he wrote ahead of receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the US.
Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of waging genocide, and denies committing any war crimes, maintaining that its operations are lawful acts of self-defence following Hamas’ attack on Israeli citizens at the aforementioned Nova Music Festival on October 7 2023.
