Nadeen Ayoub, who made history as Palestine’s inaugural Miss Universe representative, tied the knot with Sharaf Barghouti, the son of Marwan Barghouti, a highly sought-after Hamas figure. Marwan Barghouti is currently serving a life sentence in Israel for orchestrating five murders.

The union took place in 2016, and Ayoub, 27, appears to have named her son in honor of the controversial Fatah leader, Marwan Barghouti. The elder Barghouti, imprisoned in 2002 for his role in planning fatal attacks, is a significant figure in Palestinian politics.

Before his arrest, Marwan Barghouti was a key player in the establishment of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in the West Bank and was known for leading street demonstrations. His imprisonment has made him the most notable Palestinian detainee in Israeli custody.

Many see Barghouti as a potential unifying leader for Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank. Despite attempts by Hamas to secure his release through a hostage exchange, these efforts have been unsuccessful.

Living in Dubai, Ayoub holds dual US-Canadian citizenship. Social media posts, recently highlighted by the New York Post, show her alongside various members of the Barghouti family.

Ms Ayoub, a US-Canadian citizen living in Dubai, can be seen posing alongside members of the Barghouti family in social media posts uncovered by the New York Post. 

It is unclear if she remains with Sharaf but family members confirmed to the outlet that they were married at one point.

The beauty pageant contestant previously taught at Ramallah-based gym IQ Fitness, owned by brother-in-law Qassam Barghouthi, who was imprisoned in Israel but later acquitted of carrying out an ambush and four attempted killings.

Nadeen Ayoub, 27, Palestine’s first ever Miss Universe contestant, wedded Sharaf Barghouti, son of Marwan Barghouti, in 2016

She is the first contestant from the Palestinian Territories to compete in the beauty pageant

Marwan Barghouti is Hamas’ most-wanted terrorist prisoner and is serving life in Israel for five murders

One social media post refers to Ms Ayoub as ‘Nadeen Barghouti’.

After her participation as Miss Palestine was announced earlier this year, Ayoub said in an Instagram post: ‘Today, I step onto the Miss Universe stage not just with a title but with a truth…

‘I represent every Palestinian woman and child whose strength the world needs to see. We are more than our suffering – we are resilience, hope and the heartbeat of a homeland that lives on through us.’

She previously represented Palestine in the 2022 Miss Earth beauty pageant in the Philippines, where she came third. 

Meanwhile, Miss Israel revealed that she has been bombarded with death threats after footage appeared to show her scowling at Miss Palestine on stage at an event in Thailand.

The clip went viral online after it seemed to show Melanie Shiraz, 27, glaring and rolling her eyes at Ms Ayoub, who appeared to be standing next to her.

But Shiraz has since posted separate, ‘original footage’ from the event, showing her standing behind Ayoub and diverting her expression elsewhere.

The Israeli beauty queen has claimed the video where she appeared to give Miss Palestine the side-eye was ‘edited’ and from a ‘third-party’, and designed to intentionally mislead audiences.

In the wake of the viral clip, she said she received an onslaught of online hatred, including ‘Hitler-related comments’, resulting in her having to organise ‘heightened security’.

‘It’s not only death threats, but sexual assault threats,’ Shiraz told the New York Post. ‘I experienced antisemitism before but I didn’t think it would be this bad.’

The event in Thailand is the first time the beauty competition has included a contestant from the Palestinian-occupied territories.