Thursday 10 December 2009

Barghouti: Palestinian unifier? Or an "Israel Asset"

Nadia said...

He have always felt that Marwan Barghouti is viewed by Israel as an asset to be used when the time is right. He think that the time has arrived.

Nadia

I agree with him saying "As they say, politics makes strange bedfellows."
However, he is "well informed" therfore he dared  to claim "Marwan Barghouti is viewed by Israel as an asset to be used when the time is right."
Those who dared to say that Hamas is a zionist creature, may say that Marwan is a an Israeli asset.

I wonder if you have read the interview with Abdel Sattar Qassem, he taked about making Palestinian Leaders

["What about making you a Palestinian leader? Which is better for you? To get out of jail -- nobody is waiting for you except your wife. Or having 20 TV cameras waiting for you?"

I said, "Well, 20 TV cameras would be much better."

He said, "Okay, we will arrange that for you when you get out of prison."

I said, "What's after that?"

He said, "After that we will concentrate on you in our mass media. Professor Qassim went, to Professor Qassim ate, to Professor Qassim met with some people, made a speech here and there and so on and in a couple of weeks you will be a Palestinian leader."

I said, "What do you want in return?" He said, "I don't want anything. We have so many spies around. All I want from you is to give hot speeches. Talk about the liberation of Haifa and Jaffa, but go back home and sleep. Don't do anything." ]

Marwan is Jailed not for hot speechs on liberation of Haifa and Jaffa, while resisting he was talking about the two state solution. He is jail because he refused to go back home and sleep.

Applying Abdel Sattar Qassem, measures on Israel making Palestinian Leaders, Millistine Pundit, I may claim TONY is a zionist make. 


COMMENT:

I have always felt that Marwan Barghouti is viewed by Israel as an asset to be used when the time is right. I think that the time has arrived.

There is a convergence of opinion (even including the opinion of Hamas) that he is the one leader who can replace Abbas, "re-unify" the Palestinians and most importantly save the "peace process."

For those Palestinians who have forgotten, in the last elections Marwan challenged Abbas by threatening to run on a separate ticket with none other than Dahlan! This is the Palestinian "hero" of the moment.

Also, at one point in the past, Hamas accused Marwan of treason, but now Hamas insists on his release. As they say, politics makes strange bedfellows.


# posted by Tony : 3:24 AM




09/12/2009 Fatah strongman Marwan Barghouti has said that Hamas and Israel are on the verge of reaching a deal for the release of captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit, in an interview with the pan-Arab daily Al-Quds al-Arabi published on Wednesday.

As part of a prisoner exchange for Shalit, the Islamic resistance group is reportedly demanding that Israel release Barghouti, who is serving five consecutive life sentences in an Israeli prison.

While it is still unclear whether Israel has agreed to free him in the deal, Barghouti told the London-based paper that he hopes to be released soon. He was quoted as saying his release would be a "national interest of the entire Palestinian nation."

The Fatah strongman also reportedly voiced the hope that the deal would be finalized as soon as possible, and that Israel would agree to all of Hamas' demands. He added that the Palestinian detainees in Israel were prepared to wait until Israel freed all of them without reservations, the paper said.

Fatah officials say that Barghouti's release could expedite the resignation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, paving the way for Barghouti to assume the post. Palestinian opinion polls show that Barghouti is extremely popular among the Palestinian public.

In response to a question as to whether there were elements in Hamas that opposed his release, Barghouti was quoted as saying there were no differences of opinion in the resistance group. He said Hamas saw the deal as a very important achievement and was working for its completion, the paper reported.

Barghouti said the release of Palestinian detainees was an issue over which all of the Palestinian factions were united, according to Al-Quds al-Arabi.

Meanwhile, Abbas said on Wednesday there was no deal for now between Israel and Hamas on freeing Shalit.

Abbas was speaking after talks with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, which has been seeking to mediate to secure the release of Shalit in exchange for Israel's freeing of hundreds of Palestinian detainees.

"The two sides have stopped at the details concerning the numbers and nature of people to be released ... However, I can tell you that for now there is no deal," Abbas told reporters.



As Abbas prepares to step down, Marwan Barghouti speaks out from prison cell


By Ben Lynfield in Ramallah
Thursday, 10 December 2009


AP
Marwan Barghouti is serving multiple life sentences but could be freed by Israel in a prisoner swap deal

Marwan Barghouti, the senior Fatah leader who could be set free in a prisoner swap with Israel, appears to be already testing the waters for a possible bid to succeed the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.


In an interview yesterday in al-Quds newspaper, the charismatic leader criticised his rival for relying on negotiations alone in dealing with the Jewish state and said he is considering standing as a candidate if an agreement is reached to hold presidential elections.
Barghouti, serving multiple life sentences for five counts of murder, is the most politically significant prisoner among 960 Palestinians Israel could free if a deal is struck with Hamas for the release of Sgt Gilad Schalit, captured three years ago in a cross-border raid. His popularity and willingness to trim between pacific and bellicose positions have led to him being dubbed the Palestinian Mandela. Hamas has been pressing hard for his release to demonstrate that it is concerned about the entire Palestinian nation, not only its own members.

"The [peace] negotiations have failed but we don't rule out negotiations or reject them on principle," Barghouti told al-Quds. But, he stressed, they must be combined with "active popular resistance". It was a call for a return to the popular demonstrations of the first intifada uprising, in which Barghouti played a pivotal role until being deported in 1989. But he added, in a hint of opposition to attacks directed at civilians inside Israel, that resistance needs to be in accordance with international law.

Fifty years old, the veteran Fatah member from near Ramallah has alternated between warlike and peaceful positions over the past two decades, playing an active role in two revolts against Israel but also espousing a two-state compromise solution with the Jewish state. Israel's cabinet is divided over whether he should be freed, with Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, terming him "not just a murderer but a leader of murderers" while his freedom is being urged by the Infrastructure minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who remembers the Hebrew-speaking Barghouti as a pragmatist and supporter of the 1993 Oslo agreement.

During the second intifada uprising that broke out in 2000, Barghouti led marches to Israeli checkpoints, causing clashes with soldiers. He also made stirring speeches condoning the use of force to end occupation. His militant credentials seemed fixed when he was tried and sentenced to five life terms by Israel in 2002 for being a militia leader linked to the killing of four Israelis and a Greek Orthodox monk. He denied involvement in violence

Analysts say freedom for Barghouti will bring the resignation of Abbas as president of the Palestinian National Authority closer. Amid frustration with the Obama administration and Israel for the latter's refusal to agree to a full settlement freeze, Mr Abbas is at a dead end. He has said he will stand down before the next elections.

"Marwan's release would make clear there is an alternative, so it would speed the departure of Abbas," says Hani Masri, head of the Bada'il think-tank in Ramallah. Barghouti told al-Quds he would consider running for president, but only if the elections were set in the framework of a "national reconciliation" agreement between Fatah and Hamas. He hoped balloting will held in June.

Mr Barghouti's allies depict him as a potential saviour for Fatah, the movement founded by Yasser Arafat that has suffered setback after setback since his death, including Hamas's 2006 electoral victory and its armed takeover of Gaza a year later.

"He can win elections and he can also achieve a reconciliation with Hamas," says Qadoura Fares, a close associate and former Palestinian Authority minister. To prove the latter point, Mr Fares recalls that, from his prison cell, Barghouti oversaw a 2006 document drawn up with jailed Hamas leaders endorsing the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, the areas Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. It was viewed at the time as offering implicit recognition of Israel by the Islamic group.

Barghouti: Palestinian unifier?

* The hugely popular Marwan Barghouti is seen as the best hope of replacing Palestinian National Authority's lame-duck president Mahmoud Abbas, and of overcoming the vicious feud between Fatah and Hamas.

* Hamas put his name at the top of the list of prisoners it wants freed. But other voices doubt his ability to heal the divisions. And there is a background of bitterness: in 2002, top figures in Hamas condemned Barghouti as a traitor, implying that he was being manipulated by the US.

Anal-ysis, Fath, Hamas, shalit

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