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Marwan Barghouti in handcuffs (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners November 25, 2004 |
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Marwan Barghouti, convicted on five counts of murder and serving a life sentence in Israel, made it known Thursday that he is running for Yasser Arafat's position as head of the Palestinian Authority, defying the traditional leadership and scrambling the political picture ahead of the Jan. 9 presidential election.
Barghouti, 45, is challenging interim leader Mahmoud Abbas, 69, a "pragmatist" who appears to have the tacit support of Israel and the United States.
A generational struggle in Palestinian politics
Both Abbas and Barghouti support the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
The two differ on the uprising. Abbas has spoken out against violence and said the current uprising was a mistake, but Barghouti has justified attacks on Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza as legitimate resistance to occupation.
This sharpens a power struggle in the ruling Fatah movement, pitting the old guard of politicians, like Abbas, who returned with Arafat from exile in 1994, against the younger generation of activists who led two uprisings in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Arafat ruled Fatah for nearly 40 years.
Earlier this week, Fatah named Abbas as its candidate, mainly with the support of the old guard. Younger activists, represented in part by Barghouti, are seeking a greater share of power.
Barghouti informed associates Thursday, through his lawyers, that he would run. He would have to stand as an independent, threatening a split in the Fatah vote that could even propel an outside candidate into the presidency.
Abdel Rahman Shomali, a Fatah official, said he would distribute a statement by Barghouti later. A top Fatah official, Amin Maqboul, also said he was informed of Barghouti's decision to run.
The uprising leader is serving five life terms for his role in attacks on Israelis. Israel's leaders are insisting that Barghouti will remain in prison. This week Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom called him a "murderer." Barghouti's supporters have said they are counting on international pressure on Israel to free him.
"It is a pitiful suggestion to take a man whose entire reputation rests on his expertise in violence and whose popularity rests on him being a convicted terrorist, and see him as a future leader," Uzi Arad, former director of Mossad's intelligence division. "His popularity is a travesty. It is like asking the Godfather the chief of police!"
Pollard's perspective
There have been rumored that Barghouti might be released in a swap for Jonathan Pollard, now entering his twentieth year in captivity in the United States for passing Israel classified material.
Pollard, however, rejects the idea of being exchanged for a terrorist with blood on his hands and believes the stage is being set for the release of Barghouti without any quid pro quo. In a speech delivered on his behalf at a Jerusalem rally Sunday, he claimed, "Officially, Israel insists it will never free Marwan Bargouhti. He is a murderer sentenced to multiple life sentences. Freeing him, they claim,
would undermine the rule of law. Unofficially, sources, including one very close to the prime minister, admit that Israel has been grooming Barghouti in prison to be the next leader of the Palestinian people."
Pollard says that "when news of the proposed three-way deal broke, my close contacts began to investigate, and learned important things from reliable sources in the U.S. and Israel."
"It is an open secret in Israel that top officials have been secretly meeting with Barghouti throughout his incarceration. He is taken out of his prison cell and brought to clandestine locations for these meetings, to enlist his help in promoting various initiatives with the Palestinians, such as cease fires. These secret sessions are part of the 'grooming' process," says Pollard.
Pollard says sources told his contacts that Israel, not the PA or Barghouti's military Tanzim, leaked the story last week about Pollard and the talks aimed at putting together the three-way swap for Barghouti's release.
"Officially, Israel reviles Barghouti and dismisses any possibility of releasing him. Unofficially, Sharon's government and his closest people believe Barghouti is someone that they can work with, someone who can control the Palestinian street. They see him as someone who can unite the warring factions among the Palestinian militias and hold them in check."
Pollard says sources told him Israel has been supplying positive material to the media about Barghouti.
"More than just whitewashing Barghouti, Israel is seeking to create the impression that there is such popular support amongst the Palestinian people for Barghouti that it cannot be resisted or denied.
This is an attempt to create an atmosphere where the U.S. feels it must step in and direct events. The Americans can then 'force' Israel to release Barghouti, and Israel can do so with 'clean hands,'" says Pollard.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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