From Occupied Palestine

Talking with Marwan Barghouthi
Palestine-Israel Journal vol 13 no 2 (Autumn 2006)

The time has come to open the doors for a young generation of activists

Marwan Barghouthi is a member of the Revolutionary Council of Fateh. He is currently serving a life sentence in an Israeli jail, but is viewed by all observers, including Israelis, as a potential future Palestinian leader. His imprisonment is seen as a political act and his release will constitute a substantial part of any future political breakthrough.

A Jewish state? 'Definitely'
DAVID LANDAU and AKIVA ELDAR
Ha'aretz, 18 June 2004

Arafat is ready to sign an agreement that would give Palestinians 97 per cent of the West Bank and Gaza - with the rest in a land swap, and the right of return of not all, but at least some refugees. In a free-ranging interview with Haaretz, conducted in the carefully preserved ruins of the Muqata, the PA Chairman also spoke of the historical family bonds between the two peoples.

Marwan Barghouti: Radical pragmatist
GRAHAM USHER
al Ahram Weekly, 3-9 June 2004

Barring events, on 6 June Marwan Barghouti will be sentenced for the murder of four Israelis and one Greek civilian. Israel's state prosecution is recommending five life terms. Few doubt he will receive or -- for a large swathe of Israeli Jewish opinion -- deserve them. "Whatever he was in the past, he was convicted today of murdering Israelis," said an Israeli government spokesman on 20 May, the day of the conviction.

The hudna began in the prisons
AMOS HAREL
Ha'aretz, 11 July 2003

The leaders of the Fatah prisoners in Israel sent dozens of terrorists on suicide missions and shooting attacks on both sides of the Green Line. But in talks with Haaretz this week, the leaders all proclaimed unwavering support for the cease-fire agreement known as the hudna.

Perhaps surprisingly, they also sent out a message of reconciliation with Israel and expressed hope that the present moves will eventually lead to a peace agreement.

The 'Palestinian Napoleon' behind Mideast cease-fire
NICOLE GAOUETTE
Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 2003

Jerusalem -- When the Israeli and Palestinian Authority prime ministers met Tuesday, they did so with an unprecedented display of bonhomie and some trusted ministers. But one man was missing - a man widely credited with engineering the Palestinian cease-fire that led to the meeting and generated momentum for the US-backed peace plan under discussion.

Jailed colleagues refuse to testify against Barghouti
CHRIS McGREAL
Guardian, April 2003

The murder trial of a prominent Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti, opened yesterday with prosecution witnesses refusing to testify and defence lawyers only grudgingly representing their client.

Mr Barghouti, who was the leader of the military wing of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement in the West Bank at the time of his capture last year, is charged with complicity in Palestinian militia attacks which killed 26 Israelis.

Interview with Marwan Barghouti
MARWAN BARGHOUTI and JEFFERSON FLETCHER
Media Monitors, 31 July 2002

Marwan Barghouti, 41, is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the General Secretary of Fatah in the West Bank, and the chief coordinator of Al-Aqsa Intifada. Barghouthi joined Fatah at the age of 15 and studied history and political science at Bir Zeit University, taking a masters degree in international relations. He spent six years in Israeli jails and was deported from his homeland in 1987. His involvement with the first Intifada was as a liaison officer in the PLO's offices in Amman and Tunis. He returned in 1994 under the Oslo accords, as a believer in the peace process. He is now on Israel's most wanted list.

Death isn't a dig deal anymore
A talk with Tanzim Chief Marwan Barghouti
GIDEON LEVY and MARWAN BARGHOUTI
Ha'aretz, 12 November 2001

During the night, someone had splashed some paint on one of the windows of the apartment where we were meeting, in a stone building in a quiet Ramallah suburb, and the owner of the building was upset: Maybe the Israelis had marked the house. Marwan Barghouti is convinced that the Israeli defense establishment has indeed marked him for assassination. He cites remarks made on Thursday by the deputy chief of staff branding him a terrorist, similar words from the head of Military Intelligence, Ariel Sharon's enthusiasm for assassinations, and intelligence information he claims to have indicating that a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

"You'll miss me yet": Interview with Marwan Barghouti
MARWAN BARGHOUTI and BEN CASPIT
Ma’ariv, 9 November 2001

He moves carefully between various apartment hideaways. He doesn't answer the telephone. He doesn't go anywhere near IDF roadblocks. He doesn't get into unfamiliar cars. He is unshaven and restless. Marwan Barghouti, one of the pioneers of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and who became a symbol of this war, is running for his life.