This from the Daily Telegraph.
Hopes for release of 'West Bank Mandela'
By Tim Butcher in Ramallah
Last Updated: 1:11am BST 09/04/2007
For many Palestinians Marwan Barghouti is a living saint, the only politician capable of leading his people out of decades of Israeli occupation and fratricidal bloodletting to nationhood.
To many Israelis he is a ruthless terrorist who is rightly languishing in jail for his role in the murder of five people during the second intifada.
For many Palestinians Marwan Barghouti is a living saint, the only politician capable of leading his people out of decades of Israeli occupation and fratricidal bloodletting to nationhood.
But this seemingly intractable contradiction must somehow be resolved after his name headed the list of hundreds of prisoners the Palestinian authorities want released in exchange for Cpl Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured last year.
Mr Barghouti has been incommunicado since he was jailed in 2002. But with growing pressure on Israel to negotiate a deal before the June anniversary of Cpl Shalit's capture, Palestinian hopes are high that the man many call the "Palestinian Nelson Mandela" could soon be released.
His 21-year-old son, Qassam, was unexpectedly released two weeks ago, fuelling hopes that Israel may be preparing the way for the release of his 47-year-old father.
In a brief interview with The Daily Telegraph, Qassam, who shared a cell with his father, gave a rare insight into the thinking of the man many Palestinians pin their hopes on.
"The key thing to remember about my father is that he is a listener and a pragmatist," said Qassam, at his Ramallah home between celebrations to mark his release. The law student was picked up in February 2003 as he returned from university in Cairo, and held without charge under Israel's administrative detention procedures.
"When I saw him in jail, I noticed that he did not just listen to his people from his own movement, Fatah. He listened to everyone and was respectful of their views even if they differed from his."
On the key question of recognising Israel, Qassam said, his father had made up his mind. "He believes that what happened in 1948 is a part of history and we, as Palestinians, must now accept that there will always be an Israel," said the young man who has the same pudgy, whiskered face as his father.
"The only solution for this conflict must be two states side by side, an Israeli state and a Palestinian state.
"You must remember that he has supported this pragmatic view for many years but the Israelis simply don't want to listen.
"They go on and on about Hamas but when you have a leader like my father who wants to talk about peace the Israelis are not interested.
"They are just not honest about peace: time after time they show they are not interested in ending this conflict."
Israel is reportedly reviewing a list of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners that militants want released in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier.
The list was passed to Israel by Egyptian mediators in recent days. The release of Cpl Shalit is a precondition for any possible progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. A swap could also help the new Palestinian unity government in its quest for international acceptance.
A criminal court sentenced Barghouti to five life sentences in 2002 for involvement in the murder of four Israelis and a Greek monk.
For many Israelis, the idea of letting the elder Barghouti go free is anathema.
Uri Ariel, an MP from the right wing National Union-National Religious Party, said: "If it's true that Barghouti will be released as part of the Shalit deal - and I hope it's not - and if anyone plans to release a murderer who received five life sentences in jail, this will be the government's final failure, and it should quit before going bankrupt."
But only if he is released can Barghouti show if he truly is the West Bank Mandela.
No comments:
Post a Comment