By Ryan Jones
Nov 27, 2005
Much like Yasser Arafat before him, jailed ?Palestinian? terrorist leader Marwarn Barghouti is being touted as the best hope for peace between Israel and the Arabs.
Barghouti has been sitting in an Israeli prison since his capture by IDF troops in 2002 for his direct role as leader of the Fatah Tanzim in the terrorist murders of numerous Israelis.
A Tel Aviv court convicted him of being responsible for the deaths of at least five Israelis Jews, and sentenced him to five life terms.
Barghouti is also widely credited with organizing the start of the ?Oslo War? in September 2000, with the Arafat's explicit blessing. He has in the past boasted of his leading role in the ?uprising.?
Over the weekend, this popular killer swept to victory in Fatah's Ramallah region primaries, and is expected to lead the ruling PLO faction in the next sitting of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
?This is a message to the Israelis ? you sentenced him to life sentences while taking away his immunity, and now we, his people, have returned his immunity and elected him as our leader,? his wife, Fadwa Barghouti, told Ynet Sunday.
She said the ?meaning of the results is a message to the Israelis that if you want to negotiate with the Palestinian people,? her husband is the one the Jews must go through.
Fadwa insisted Israel release her husband immediately, as he is a national leader who should enjoy diplomatic immunity, despite his crimes against humanity.
Her call was backed up by ultra-leftist Israeli politician Yossi Beilin, who called Barghouti a ?man of peace.?
?Barghouti heads one of the Palestinian camps that do want peace, and so this is the moment to curb his prison term and allow him to lead the Palestinian nation, in preparation for an historical peace agreement with Israel,? Beilin told reporters.
But the man who secured the number two slot on the Fatah list, Kadoura Fares, told Israel Radio that he and Barghouti plan to pursue the path of peaceful negotiations only so long as the ?Palestinians? get what they want.
We support ?negotiations and other peaceful means with Israel as long as Palestinian aspirations may be realized through negotiations,? Fares said.
However, ?if Palestinian aspirations can't be realized through peaceful means then the aspirations will be realized via resistance [ie ? the slaughter of Jewish men, women and children, whether they be armed soldiers or innocent families out for a pizza].?
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom noted Saturday that Barghouti is a murderer with Jewish blood on his hands, and insisted he will never be set free. President Moshe Katsav followed up by saying he would not agree to any request to sign a pardon on Barghouti's behalf.
But on Sunday, cabinet minister Meir Sheetrit, a member of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new Kadima Party, warned Israel to ?never say never.?
?I believe that if a permanent peace agreement is reached with the Palestinians, and if terror in the region ceases totally, and there is absolute calm and peace in the region, we can, of course, discuss [a pardon],? Sheetrit said.
Many in Israel believe Western diplomatic pressure will lead to Barghouti's release far sooner than that.