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Barghouthi plays key role in truce with Israelis
Khaleej Times, (Reuters)
30 June 2003
JERUSALEM - Marwan El-Barghouthi, a leader of the Palestinian uprising
on trial in Israel accused of masterminding attacks on Israelis, turned
the tables on his jailers by successfully convincing militants to call a
truce. “From his cell, Barghouthi played a crucial role in Palestinian
dialogue and contributed a lot in talks on the hudna,” said a senior
official from Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction, using
the Arabic word for truce.
The ceasefire was announced by the militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad, then
by the Fatah faction, after weeks of talks spurred by Barghouthi’s
lawyers, who carried his message as far as Damascus.
The success bolstered Barghouthi’s stature among Palestinians, already strong following his public trial, and reinforced his position as a potential successor to Arafat.
Born in 1959 to a West Bank farmer, Barghouthi has denied Israeli charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder and “activities in a terrorist organisation”.
He was detained in April last year and indicted in an Israeli court in August.
Claiming immunity as a member of the Palestinian parliament, he has refused representation in court, denying the legitimacy of Israeli case against him.
Using Hebrew learned during previous stints in Israeli jails, Barghouthi exploits the extensive media coverage of his trial at every turn, insisting that the uprising will be victorious.
“The man is a genuine, young, promising leader,” said Mahdi Abdul-Hadi, head of the Palestinian think tank Passia. “People like him whether he is on the street, at home or in prison. He is there, he is visible and he proved it.”
Israel seeking to strengthen Barghouthi
Israel was aware of Barghouthi’s truce efforts and decided not to interfere, an Israeli security source said. Leftist lawmaker Yossi Sarid said the decision may have been intentional.
“I raised the possibility that it is a sort of coordination between the Israeli government and Barghouthi in order to empower him and strengthen his position,” Sarid said.
Israeli ministers have declined to discuss Barghouthi’s role in the truce talks. The state calls him a “master terrorist” who headed the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and was responsible for the death of 26 Israelis.
Barghouthi joined Fatah at age 15 and earned a master’s degree in international relations at the West Bank’s Bir Zeit University.
Following the 1993 Oslo interim peace accords, he actively supported the peace talks with Israel and ran programmes for Israeli and Palestinian youth.
With the outbreak of the uprising in September 2000, Barghouthi became a charismatic speaker who whipped up crowds with a message of resistance to Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Palestinian moderates have called for his release.
“He has what you call very loyal colleagues. He did not come from a gold parachute, he was born and lived in the street,” said Abdul-Hadi, calling his Israeli imprisonment a “mistake caused by short-sightedness and an arrogance of power.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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