|
Marwan to be 'freed' as part of Shalit deal
(AKI) - Prominent Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti would be released from jail in a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas that would also free kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, a close associate of Barghouti has claimed. Saed Nimr, director of the Free Marwan Barghouti campaign, spoke to Adnkronos International (AKI) on Thursday as Egypt-sponsored negotiations continue for a long-term peace deal between the parties.
Nimr, a political science professor at Birzeit University in the West Bank, has been campaigning for Barghouti's release since he was arrested in Ramallah in 2002. Nimr was responding to claims by the Arab daily al-Quds al-Arabi, which quoted Fatah sources who claimed that young Fatah members were protesting against the failure of Fatah's so-called 'old-guard' to secure Barghouti's release. "Some of the leaders of the 'old-guard' are not very happy about Barghouti's release, because they are afraid of reforms that Barghouti would implement in Fatah which could undermine their positions, " Nimr said. The pan-Arab daily claimed that Palestinian Authority officials were preventing Barghouti's release, because PA officials are afraid that it could severely weaken Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and instead strengthen Hamas which is reportedly holding Shalit hostage in the Gaza Strip. The newspaper also said Abbas was not able to secure Barghouti's release during negotiations with outgoing Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert. Al-Quds al-Arabi also quoted a Hamas political official who confirmed the threat to Abbas' power. " Palestinian officials asked their Israeli counterparts not to release Fatah's patriot, Marwan Barghouti, because it would weaken Abu Mazen (Abbas) and strengthen Hamas," said Hamas official, Mohammed Nazzal, from the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. However, Nimr told AKI how important Barghouti's release was for both the Gaza-ruling Hamas and its rival Fatah. "Not only is Hamas asking for the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, but Marwan Barghouti is one of them, " he said. "From the point of view of Hamas, releasing Barghouti is very important because without him such a prisoner exchange deal would be very weak. "Despite that he would most likely be its (Hamas) opponent in elections in the near future." Many consider Barghouti as Abbas' successor as Palestinian leader, but Nimr said Barghouti would work with Fatah's leadership. Nimr said Barghouti is necessary for a reconciliation between Palestinian factions, and to lead them ahead of legislative and presidential elections as well as to unite the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with Hamas and Fatah taking leading roles in politics. "Definitely Marwan Barghouti is the one who is going to unify Fatah and lead the elections from Fatah's side. Barghouti believes we should share power with Hamas, we should share the political arena. "No-one can cancel the other one out. Hamas cannot lead without Fatah and Fatah cannot lead without Hamas, they need each other, even if it the other is in the opposition." Barghouti, was the leader of the West Bank's Tanzim movement - a militant wing of Fatah - and is considered the new guard within the ruling Fatah movement. He was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to five life-terms in 2004, by an Israeli court which found him guilty for the deaths of 26 people and for belonging to a terrorist organisation. Barghouti refuses to recognise the legitimacy of the Israeli court system. During the first and second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in 1987 and in 2000, Barghouti led marches through Israeli checkpoints and is widely associated with the grassroots movement opposed to Israeli occupation. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-06 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=264292 |