Twenty-two years ago, Marwan Barghouti stood in an Israeli courtroom and refused to speak Hebrew. Refused to recognize the court's authority. Refused to bow.

They'd tried to kill him multiple times . . . and failed. So they buried him alive: five life sentences plus forty years. The man who'd once believed in the Oslo accords, who'd sat across tables trying to forge peace, who dreamed of two peoples living side by side, was disappeared into a cell. He’s been languishing there ever since.

Today, Palestine is dying.

Israel is rampaging in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas lies in ruins. The PLO is a ghost of itself. Western governments mouth homilies while the bombs keep falling, the settlements keep expanding, the children keep dying.

#FreePalestine feels hopeless.

And yet.

In that prison cell sits a 65-year-old man who still believes. His son Aarab says he still hopes, still dreams of two states, two peoples. He tops every Palestinian opinion poll; in an election he would easily win. Even Ami Ayalon, the former head of Israeli Intelligence admits: "It's in our interest he'll compete in the next Palestinian elections - the sooner the better."

Northern Ireland had Adams. South Africa had Mandela.

And now, if we can mount enough international pressure for his release . . . Palestine has Barghouti.

Spread the word.

You be the force