The New Mandela

by Uri Avnery

MARWAN BARGHOUTI has spoken up. After a long silence, he has sent a message from prison.

In Israeli ears, this message does not sound pleasant. But for Palestinians, and for Arabs in general, it makes sense.

His message may well become the new program of the Palestinian liberation movement.

I FIRST met Marwan in the heyday of post-Oslo optimism. He was emerging as a leader of the new Palestinian generation, the home-grown young activists, men and women, who had matured in the first Intifada.

He is a man of small physical stature and large personality. When I met him, he was already the leader of Tanzim (“organization”), the youth group of the Fatah movement.

The topic of our conversations then was the organization of demonstrations and other non-violent actions, based on close cooperation between the Palestinians and Israeli peace groups. The aim was peace between Israel and a new State of Palestine.

When the Oslo process died with the assassinations of Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, Marwan and his organization became targets. Successive Israeli leaders – Binyamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon – decided to put an end to the two-state agenda. In the brutal “Defensive Shield operation (launched by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, the new leader of the Kadima Party) the Palestinian Authority was attacked, its services destroyed and many of its activists arrested.

Marwan Barghouti was put on trial. It was alleged that, as the leader of Tanzim, he was responsible for several “terrorist” attacks in Israel. His trial was a mockery, resembling a Roman gladiatorial arena more than a judicial process. The hall was packed with howling rightists, presenting themselves as “victims of terrorism”. Members of Gush Shalom protested against the trial inside the court building but we were not allowed anywhere near the accused.

Marwan was sentenced to five life sentences. The picture of him raising his shackled hands above his head has become a Palestinian national icon. When I visited his family in Ramallah, it was hanging in the living room.

IN PRISON, Marwan Barghouti was immediately recognized as the leader of all Fatah prisoners. He is respected by Hamas activists as well. Together, the imprisoned leaders of Fatah and Hamas published several statements calling for Palestinian unity and reconciliation. These were widely distributed outside and received with admiration and respect.

(Members of the extended Barghouti family, by the way, play a major role in Palestinian affairs across the entire spectrum from moderate to extremist. One of them is Mustapha Barghouti, a doctor who heads a moderate Palestinian party with many connections abroad, whom I regularly meet at demonstrations in Bilin and elsewhere. I once joked that we always cry when we see each other – from tear gas. The family has its roots in a group of villages north of Jerusalem.)

NOWADAYS, MARWAN Barghouti is considered the outstanding candidate for leader of Fatah and president of the Palestinian Authority after Mahmoud Abbas. He is one of the very few personalities around whom all Palestinians, Fatah as well as Hamas, can unite.

After the capture of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, when the prisoner exchange was discussed, Hamas put Marwan Barghouti on top of the list of Palestinian prisoners whose release it demanded. This was a very unusual gesture, since Marwan belonged to the rival – and reviled - faction.

The Israeli government struck Marwan from the list right away, and remained adamant. When Shalit was finally released, Marwan stayed in prison. Obviously he was considered more dangerous than hundreds of Hamas “terrorists” with “blood on their hands”.

Why?

Cynics would say: because he wants peace. Because he sticks to the two-state solution. Because he can unify the Palestinian people for that purpose. All good reasons for a Netanyahu to keep him behind bars.

SO WHAT did Marwan tell his people this week?

Clearly, his attitude has hardened. So, one must assume, has the attitude of the Palestinian people at large.

He calls for a Third Intifada, a non-violent mass uprising in the spirit of the Arab Spring.

His manifesto is a clear rejection of the policy of Mahmoud Abbas, who maintains limited but all-important cooperation with the Israeli occupation authorities. Marwan calls for a total rupture of all forms of cooperation, whether economic, military or other.

A focal point of this cooperation is the day-to-day collaboration of the American-trained Palestinian security services with the Israeli occupation forces. This arrangement has effectively stopped violent Palestinian attacks in the occupied territories and in Israel proper. It guarantees, In practice, the security of the growing Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Marwan also calls for a total boycott of Israel, Israeli institutions and products in the Palestinian territories and throughout the world. Israeli products should disappear from West Bank shops, Palestinian products should be promoted.

At the same time, Marwan advocates an official end to the charade called “peace negotiations”. This term, by the way, is never heard anymore in Israel. First it was replaced with “peace process”, then “political process”, and lately “the political matter”. The simple word “peace” has become taboo among rightists and most “leftists” alike. It’s political poison.

Marwan proposes to make the absence of peace negotiations official. No more international talk about “reviving the peace process”, no more rushing around of ridiculous people like Tony Blair, no more hollow announcements by Hillary Clinton and Catherine Ashton, no more empty declarations of the “Quartet”. Since the Israeli government clearly has abandoned the two-state solution – which it never really accepted in the first place – keeping up the pretense just harms the Palestinian struggle.

Instead of this hypocrisy, Marwan proposes to renew the battle in the UN. First, apply again to the Security Council for the acceptance of Palestine as a member state, challenging the US to use its solitary veto openly against practically the whole world. After the expected rejection of the Palestinian request by the Council as a result of the veto, request a decision by the General Assembly, where the vast majority would vote in favor. Though this would not be binding, it would demonstrate that the freedom of Palestine enjoys the overwhelming support of the family of nations, and isolate Israel (and the US) even more.

Parallel to this course of action, Marwan insists on Palestinian unity, using his considerable moral force to put pressure on both Fatah and Hamas.

TO SUMMARIZE, Marwan Barghouti has given up all hope of achieving Palestinian freedom through cooperation with Israel, or even Israeli opposition forces. The Israeli peace movement is not mentioned anymore. “Normalization” has become a dirty word.

These ideas are not new, but coming from the No. 1 Palestinian prisoner, the foremost candidate for the succession of Mahmoud Abbas, the hero of the Palestinian masses, it means a turn to a more militant course, both in substance and in tone.

Marwan remains peace oriented – as he made clear when, in a rare recent appearance in court, he called out to the Israeli journalists that he continues to support the two-state solution. He also remains committed to non-violent action, having come to the conclusion that the violent attacks of yesteryear harmed the Palestinian cause instead of furthering it.

He wants to call a halt to the gradual and unwilling slide of the Palestinian Authority into a Vichy-like collaboration, while the expansion of the Israeli “settlement enterprise” goes on undisturbed.

NOT BY accident did Marwan publish his manifesto on the eve of “Land Day”, the world-wide day of protest against the occupation.

“Land Day” is the anniversary of an event that took place in 1976 to protest against the decision of the Israeli government to expropriate huge tracts of Arab-owned land in Galilee and other parts of Israel. The Israeli army and police fired on the protesters, killing six of them. (The day after, two of my friends and I laid wreaths on the graves of the victims, an act that earned me an outbreak of hatred and vilification I have seldom experienced.)

Land day was a turning point for Israel’s Arab citizens, and later became a symbol for Arabs everywhere. This year, the Netanyahu government threatened to shoot anybody who even approaches our borders. It may well be a harbinger for the Third Intifada heralded by Marwan.

For some time now, the world has lost much of its interest in Palestine. Everything looks quiet. Netanyahu has succeeded in deflecting world attention from Palestine to Iran. But in this country, nothing is ever static. While it seems that nothing is happening, settlements are growing incessantly, and so is the deep resentment of the Palestinians who see this happening before their eyes.

Marwan Barghouti’s manifesto expresses the near-unanimous feelings of the Palestinians in the West Bank and elsewhere. Like Nelson Mandela in apartheid South Africa, the man in prison may well be more important than the leaders outside.

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Commentary: With all due respect for Uri Avnery I have two points of major disagreement with his article above: first, I don't believe in the so-called "Two State Solution" (a total non-starter in IMHO) and, two, I am very much concerned about whether Marwan Barghouti will not be turned into Israel's last chance to resurrect the otherwise dead and already decaying Fatah and the Two State Solution.  Still, I think that Avnery's point of view deserves to be looked into, and Barghouti himself might prove to be more of a patriot than a party man.  Lastly, considering the quasi total absence of a halfway decent Palestinian leadership, almost any leader with some intelligence and wisdom might be better the the current no-mans-land of corrupt Fatah stooges and clueless Hamas kindergärtners.

An interview with Marwan Barghouthi

This interview was originally published in Yedioth Ahronoth in Hebrew; it has been translated by Diana Buttu of The Institute for Middle East Understanding.

The moment that Abbas officially announces his resignation, even if I am in prison, I will put forward my candidacy for President (of the Palestinian Authority) and I will win.

This is what Marwan Barghouthi said from his cell - number 28, section 3 - during an exclusive interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, later republished in the Al-Quds newspaper as its lead story.

The imprisoned Palestinian leader has spent 5 years in an Israeli prison and there are many awaiting his announcement [to run as President of the Palestinian Authority]; not just in Ramallah, Gaza or Nablus but in wider circles, including within the office of Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel. Barghouthi asserts that the possibility of his release is more likely now than in any period in the past.


On his release:
Q: In your opinion, when do you think that you will be released from prison?
A: There has been talk about releasing me since the first day of my arrest. One time they said that they would release me in exchange for the release of Azzam Azzam from an Egyptian prison. Then they said that they would release me in exchange for releasing [Jonathan] Pollard from an American prison. Now they are talking about releasing me in exchange for Gilad Shalit but the negotiations have been difficult. Despite all of these statements, I am entering the sixth year of my imprisonment and I am still hopeful that my issue will be resolved in which my release comes in exchange for the release of Shalit, who will released in exchange for [Palestinian political] prisoners, including political leaders. I am optimistic and firmly believe that a prisoner exchange will happen sooner rather than later.

Q: Do you believe that Abu Mazen is doing his best to secure your release?
A: Definitely and I am convinced of that. I am assured that he has exerted a great deal of effort to secure the release of a large number of prisoners and that he has raised the issue in all of his meetings. The Palestinian people have much to gain from my release as well as the release of all prisoners. I am optimistic and I know that I will be released. It is just a question of time

Marwan Barghouthi was sentenced on 6 June 2004 – the day of his 45th birthday – to 5 life sentences plus forty years under the charge of participating in four [military] operations: in the Sea Food restaurant in Tel Aviv, in the shopping mall in Malha, Jerusalem, at a bus stop in [the settlement of] Pisgat Ze'ev and on Jerusalem road in [the settlement of Ma'ale Adumim] in which 5 Israelis were killed. Two years prior, Barghouthi was accused of being involved in 37 [military] operations, however, an Israeli district court in Tel-Aviv decided that he could only be tried for those [military] operations that he was personally involved in. He was charge with murder, attempted murder and involvement in a terrorist organization.

On the First "Truce":
Barghouthi has, over the course of the past four years, become a powerful political figure in internal politics. In 2003, he was responsible for attaining the first truce (Hudna) and later the second truce. He played an instrumental role in the election of Mahmoud Abbas as the Palestinian President and he worked to obtain an agreement of all Palestinian factions to ensure that there was no firing [upon Israeli settlers and soldiers] during the Israeli disengagement. He was also behind the Prisoners’ Document that outlined 18 points of agreement between Hamas and Fatah and which later served to form the national unity government headed by Ismail Haniyeh. He was one of the authors of the Mecca Agreement between Abu Mazen and Khaled Meshal which ended with Hamas's control over the Gaza Strip. He recently participated in the formation of the emergency government headed by Dr. Salam Fayyad.

It was not by accident that Yuval Diskin, head of the [Israeli] Shabak, said that Barghouthi plays a moderating role from prison. Increasing are the voices in Israel of those who believe that Barghouthi is a Palestinian leader who must be reckoned with. These voices do not only belong to the Israeli left. Gideon Ezra has said, "I have met with him more than once and he is not a lover of Israel – and no one expects this of him – but I think that if they release him, he will support the opposition to Hamas. I was in the minority asking for his release without any result because all of the decisions are taken by the Shabak, the government and even Abu Mazen doesn’t believe that [he will oppose Hamas]."

And with this the issue of his release cannot be divorced from reality: when we speak of the release of Gilad Shalit, Barghouthi's name appears on Hamas's list of prisoners to be exchanged. His name also appears on the short list but this requires a political decision. This is not discussed openly but it is clear that when they sign any agreement with Abu Mazen he will need tremendous support to convince the Palestinian people of the agreement. This choice has become more relevant with the international conference that will take place in November in Washington, DC. Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State, is now convinced that Barghouthi is needed to support Abu Mazen's position and the request [for his release] sits on Ehud Olmert's desk.

On elections:
Barghouthi believes that there is a third means of being released from his life sentences: he is prepared, from within prison, to take on the role of president through democratic elections [even while in prison]. He is convinced that if he wins it will cause a great deal of international, domestic and Israeli pressure to release him.

It is not comfortable for Israeli authorities to see a new Palestinian leader imprisoned in an Israeli prison: it will be embarrassing for Israel. For this reason, the Israeli authorities have prevented interviews with him inside Israeli prisons. This interview was done through the assistance of his lawyer. We sent the questions to him through Khader Shkirat [his lawyer] and in this difficult way we cannot challenge him on his answers. We could not ask follow-up questions. But, through his answers we can understand a few things about his political opinions and the personal life of a man who has, for the last few years, been considered the upcoming leader in the entity next to Israel.

On Being a Life Line:

Barghouthi is considered, in the eyes of many within Fatah, to be a personal life line to respond to Hamas’s takeover of Gaza. The old members of Fatah, consisting of the Tunis crowd (Sheikhs), view the matter differently: they fear that the new generation will run the show and will isolate them from political life in a year and a half's time. This was confirmed a month and a half ago during a meeting of the Fatah Central Committee in which it became clear that Abu Mazen's new ally is Abu Maher (Ahmed Ghaneim).

Perhaps Abu Mazen does not see Barghouti as his ally but he needs him in order to face difficulties such as the disintegration of Fatah, the reconstruction of the institutions of the Palestinian Authority and the difficult decisions he must take.

Barghouthi says, "I am not in anyone's pocket. I was not in Arafat's pocket nor will I be in Abu Mazen's pocket. I am in the pocket of the Palestinian people. I am convinced that the generation that grew up under Israeli occupation, that participated in the first and second intifadas, that can understand the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be [the individuals who] lead."

On Abu Maher:
Q: Does Abu Mazen want to go around you and therefore has appointed Abu Maher his successor?
A: Abu Maher was supposed to return [to Palestine] with the late Abu Ammar [Yasser Arafat] but he was opposed to Oslo and he preferred to stay in Tunis. I applaud each person who wants to return and Abu Maher is one of the old members of Fatah so I applaud his return.

When I asked Barghouthi about the coup in Gaza, he became angry and said, "Hamas stabbed the Palestinian [people] in the back. Hamas's coup over the legitimate authority of Abu Mazen was a big strategic error that destroyed all possibility for cooperation with Fatah. The coup took place against the national unity government and against Palestinian unity. The responsibility for a divided Palestinian people rests entirely with Hamas. It is necessary to undo these measures and restore legitimate authority with Abu Mazen before there is any dialogue. The road to restarting dialogue is closed in this period."

Q: After you cooperated with Hamas and believed the slogan "partners in blood, partners in decision-making" were you surprised by the coup in Gaza?
A: It was a surprise and I never believed that Hamas could act in such a manner. This is a knife stab to partnership in the struggle and democratic partnership and national unity. This is incredibly painful and difficult and it is not just Hamas that will suffer but the Palestinian people and their unity. This has turned into a disaster for the Palestinian cause.

On Hamas:
Q: Do you see that there is a danger of Hamas also taking over the West Bank?
A: After this bitter experience in Gaza, it is important not to underestimate any possibility. For this reason, it is important to undertake reform of the Palestinian security forces and to put it under a unified command and in particular a strategic unit whose goal is to prevent this [takeover] from occurring. This problem is the result of Israeli plans to ensure that there is not a unified, strong, trained command. Fatah is strong in the West Bank and is a guarantee of protection for the Palestinian Authority and will prevent any attempts of a coup d'etat.

It is incumbent upon Fatah to revive itself and to rebuild itself. It is necessary to hold the general conference and to elect new committees, including a new Central Committee and a new Revolutionary Council. It is necessary to vote for new candidates and to vote for women and youth, academics and artists – we are in need of a leadership that can command the respect of the people; a leadership with clean hands.

Q: What are your expectations of the international conference that will be hosted in November by President Bush?
A: This is not a conference but a meeting that, to date, does not have an agenda. I say, with honesty, that the Palestinian people can no longer tolerate conferences and international committees that simply make us lose hope and lose confidence in the peace process. For this reason, it is necessary for Palestinians to place as a condition on their participation the reaching of a real political solution and not just statements and speeches that just waste time.

In principle, I support participating in all conferences or meetings that will advance Palestinian interests. The success or failure of any conference, in my point of view is a question of whether it will lead to an end to the occupation. To the present day, in spite of the willingness to attend the Washington conference, all indicators are that the Israeli government is headed in the opposite direction: the Israeli forces have not withdrawn from West Bank towns and cities; they have not stopped their assassinations and imprisonments and they continue to invade Palestinian cities; they have not removed their checkpoints; the Palestinian prisoners number 11,000 and the Israeli government announces day and night their desire to help Abu Mazen and Salam Fayyad, yet on the ground they do the opposite. Instead of helping them, they hurt them.

On his political position:
Q: Are you afraid that Abu Mazen will make concessions during the Washington conference?
A: No Palestinian can cross red lines of national consensus and this is imposed also upon the Palestinian leadership. As I have heard and as I know, no one will make concessions to Palestinian positions: the key to peace is the end of the occupation and the dismantlement of settlements and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees and the adoption of the Arab Initiative and we must move in this direction. Any agreement must be approved by the PLC and through a popular referendum.

Q. In your opinion, should there be early elections?
A: Many democracies hold early elections for one reason or another. I believe that we should hold elections before the end of 2008, but after the coup in Gaza we should hold PLC and Presidential elections at the same time in order to get out of this crisis.

Israeli minister proposes trading Barghuti for Shalit

Al-Manar TV reports: An Israeli occupation minister said on Tuesday the Jewish state should exchange detained Palestinian Intifada leader Marwan Barghuti for an Israeli soldier captured by Gaza resistance fighters more than a year ago.
"Marwan Barghuti has a good chance of becoming the next Palestinian leader," Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, infrastructure minister and member of Israeli powerful security cabinet, told army radio.
"His release could allow the political negotiations to advance and bring about the liberation of Gilad Shalit," the Israeli occupation soldier was captured in a deadly cross-border raid by Palestinian fighters on June 25, 2006.
"All those who are thinking of Israel's security realize that there is no alternative to liberating Marwan Barghuti, as he is the strongman on the Palestinian side," he said.
Barghuti is the West Bank leader of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party and is widely regarded as the inspiration behind the Intifada that erupted in September 2000. He was arrested in 2002 and convicted in 2004 of five counts of murder and one of attempted murder resulting from three martyrdom attacks and an aborted attack. He is currently serving five life sentences. Barghuti's detention has not diminished his appeal on the Palestinian street - in January 2006 he was re-elected to parliament and is widely regarded as a possible successor to Abbas. Ben Eliezer said Barghuti's conviction should not prevent Israel from holding talks with the charismatic leader.
Israeli occupation officials said a prisoner exchange for Shalit had been agreed through Egyptian mediation with Hamas but that the talks broke down after the Islamic resistance movement controlled Gaza in mid-June.

Will Marwan Barghouti be exchanged for Gilat Shalit?

Ynet news reports that, according to Marwan Barghouti's wife, Fadwa, her husband might be released from jail as part of a deal that would include the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

If true, this is interesting as it was reported that Shalit was captured by Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of the Palestinian governing party Hamas), the Popular Resistance Committees (which includes members of Fatah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas), and a previously unknown group calling itself the Army of Islam.

Considering that Shalit is held somewhere in Gaza and that Hamas was a key player in his capture, his release cannot be obtained without Hamas approval.

It thus appears that Fatah and the Olmert administration are quietly negotiating with Hamas. More importantly, Barghouti himself, who is the top Tanzim commander and, therefore, a senior Fatah member, is also negotiating with Hamas through his Israeli captors (such as Former Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh secretly met Monday with Marwan Barghouti at the Hadarim Prison).

Such a deal would be in everybody's interest and if Barghouti was freed there could at least be a hope for further negotiations between all the parties. Without such a development, the violence will only continue.

Olmert misses a huge opportunity (again)

Here is what Olmert announced at the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting:

"As a gesture of goodwill towards the Palestinians, I will bring before the Israeli cabinet a proposal to free 250 Fatah prisoners who do not have blood on their hands."

Again, besides the recurring and bizzare Israeli obsession about "blood" (more on that in a previous post), what is really important here is that Olmert will not release Barghouti.

Considering that Israel holds about 10'000 Palestinian hostages freeing 250 of them is really utterly meaningless (unless you are one of them, of course). Moreover, refusing to free Barghouti even though this is what Abbas officially demanded is truly a slap in Abbas' face by his Imperial masters.

I would argue that freeing these 250 is actually *worse* than not freeing any of them. The message this sends is that "we don't care in the least about what you need, all we care about is what we want". I am sure that the message will be received loud and clear by all Palestinians.

My guess is that Abbas' political future, which was never stellar to begin with, is now even in worse shape that 24 hours ago and that he will gradually have to manifest signs of frustrations with Israel.

The real questions is: will he, unlike Olmert, have the lucidity to accept Hamas' numerous offers of negotiations?

Abbas to demand release of Barghouti

by Khaled Abu Toameh, for THE JERUSALEM POST

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is expected to demand the release of hundreds of Fatah prisoners from Israeli jails during Monday's summit in Sharm e-Sheikh, PA officials said.

The officials also said Abbas would call for supplying the Fatah-controlled security forces with more weapons to thwart attempts by Hamas to try to take over the West Bank.

"We want thousands of rifles, hundreds of armored vehicles and a lot of ammunition," one PA official told The Jerusalem Post. "We also want Jordan and Egypt to help train our forces in the West Bank.

Another official said that Abbas and his aides would ask Israel to release senior Fatah operative Marwan Barghouti and hundreds of Fatah prisoners to enhance Fatah's status. "We will also ask Israel to remove most of the checkpoints in the West Bank and to increase the number of Palestinians who are permitted to work in Israel," he said. "These measures are needed to boost Fatah's standing in the West Bank and to prevent Hamas from establishing bases of support there."

He said Abbas would also ask Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to instruct the IDF to stop pursuing Fatah gunmen and to refrain from raiding Palestinian cities and villages in the West Bank.

The official said Abbas would also seek backing for the deployment of an international force in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas, who met on Sunday in Amman with Jordan's King Abdullah, reiterated his refusal to refusal to talk to Hamas, which he accused of staging a "coup" in the Gaza Strip. He called for a "political horizon in the forthcoming stage that falls in conformity with the relevant UN resolutions and US President George W. Bush's vision" for creating an independent Palestinian state.

Asked whether Abbas expected Olmert to extend anything to him during the summit, Abbas said, "We have received promises from US and Israeli parties, but the important thing is to find these promises honored on the ground."

The Jordanian monarch released a royal court statement which read, "The king underscored the importance of seizing this opportunity for producing a clearly defined vision along with a timetable for relaunching the negotiation process."

Abdullah also urged Arab countries and the world community to extend support to "efforts under way for resuming the peace process," which he said should lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state that lives in peace with Israel.

In addition, Abdullah said that today's summit "should discuss possible means for supporting the Palestinian people and lifting the siege" imposed on the Palestinians after Hamas came to power in 2006.

In his first pubic speech since Hamas took control over the Gaza Strip, deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas warned the Arab states and the Palestinians against pinning high hopes on Monday's summit in Sharm e-Sheikh.

"Summits with the Americans and Israelis won't restore the rights of the Palestinians," Haniyeh said. "These rights will be restored only through resistance and perseverance."

Haniyeh's remarks came as a top PA security official in Ramallah accused Iran of backing Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip.

Haniyeh accused Israel of meddling in Palestinian internal affairs by tightening its siege on the Gaza Strip and pouring millions of dollars and weapons on Fatah in the West Bank.

He said Hamas's decision to take over the Gaza Strip came after the movement had come under pressure and attack in the past 18 months.

Haniyeh said, "We have no problem with Fatah, but with a certain group inside Fatah that was working with foreign parties against Hamas," he said. He also called on Abbas to distribute the tax revenues that Israel is about to transfer to the government of Salaam Fayad to all Palestinians.

Haniyeh denied allegations that Hamas had planned to assassinate Abbas. He said that the booby-trapped underground tunnels that were discovered in the Gaza Strip were only supposed to be used against Israel.

Fatah officials here scoffed at Haniyeh's remarks, saying he was now trying to provide a political cover for the military coup that Hamas staged in the Gaza Strip.

"The man is a liar," said Fahmi Za'rour, a Fatah spokesman in the West Bank. "The day will come when he will face a criminal tribunal for his crimes."

Tawfik Tirawi, head of the PA General Intelligence Service, accused Iran of supporting Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip. He told reporters that Hamas members had traveled to Iran and other Islamic countries where they underwent military training.

He denied charges by Hamas that the PA security forces had been collaborating with Israel. He said Hamas members in the West Bank have been stockpiling weapons ahead of a possible confrontation with Fatah.

Voices of reason and common sense in Ha'aretz

Mahmoud Abbas is a fiction by Israel Harel

George W. Bush and Ehud Olmert looked pathetic giving their "full backing" to the broken-down crutch that is Mahmoud Abbas. Contrary to the talk in Washington, nothing has changed to open a new opportunity for negotiations over a final settlement. It is impossible to hold talks with Abbas, just like it was impossible to hold talks in the past on any kind of arrangement, and certainly not on a permanent settlement. The Hamas victory in the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a "moderate" government in Ramallah do not divide the territory into Hamastan in the Gaza Strip and Fatahstan in Judea and Samaria. This is only another illusion in the basket of Israeli illusions - a fallacy that's part of the same belief that there is an Arab leader (it used to be Yasser Arafat, and now it is Mahmoud Abbas) who wants to sign an agreement with us, and one that entails relinquishing the right of return and recognizing Israel's right to exist as a Jewish and Zionist state.

It is not only the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and their leadership who do not recognize the right of Israel to exist as a state with a Jewish and Zionist character, but as a number of recently published documents have revealed, it is a view shared by entities representing the Arab citizens of Israel too.

The Palestinian government sworn in earlier this week is a fiction, even if the United States and Israel support it. In Ramallah, where this fictitious government sits, Hamas won a decisive victory in the last elections: four seats in parliament for Hamas, and only one for Fatah. In Nablus, four seats went to Hamas and two to Fatah. In Hebron: nine to Hamas and none for Fatah. In Jerusalem: four to Hamas and two for Fatah. In the cities of Judea and Samaria Hamas won 30 parliamentary seats. Fatah got only 12.

Given the circumstances, the new government does not represent the Palestinians - only Israeli illusions, and possibly also those of the Americans and the Europeans. The Israel Defense Forces cannot prevent the erosion of Fatah's military power, and it is doubtful whether it is even worth investing efforts in such futility. The experience of recent years proves that our "allies," Mohammad Dahlan among them, are only boisterous characters - corrupt and lacking any real power. They are certainly no ally of Israel.

In any case, Hamas will defeat them, and Israel should prepare well for the confrontation ahead. And in a confrontation of this nature, the various Dahlans would bring no benefit, only a burden.

Abbas' men lost in the fight not because Hamas militants are more brutal or better trained. If Fatah could, it would have adopted the same methods. Hamas won because the vast majority of the Gaza Strip population supports it, and this is first and foremost support for the religious ideology of the movement, which calls for the destruction of the Zionist entity. And as the elections have shown, this call is shared by the vast majority in Judea and Samaria, the area which Israeli analysts and politicians have designated for a Fatah state.

Certainly since the elections, areas A and B have been controlled by Hamas. As the events in the Gaza Strip show, the fact that many countries around the world have opposed the Hamas regime did not weaken support for the group. While in Judea and Samaria, thanks to the "occupation," Israel is able to prevent, and it is important that it prevent, some of the bloodletting, it is unable to prevent the weakening, and even the disappearence of Fatah as a significant force.

It is therefore time to let the truth out: Abbas is a fiction, and he cannot be saved.

Free Barghouti: Haaretz Editorial

One of the leaders of the Palestinian people has been incarcerated for approximately five years now in Hadarim Prison, in central Israel. The time has come to release him. For years, Marwan Barghouti has tried to persuade Israelis to end the occupation through negotiation. He has gone from one Israeli party headquarters to the next, meeting with politicians across the political spectrum. He tried to persuade them in order to preempt the next confrontation.

Barghouti failed, the second intifada broke out, and he himself turned to the path of violent struggle. After going underground for months, during which he still tried to address the Israeli public through its own media, Barghouti was arrested in April 2002 and prosecuted. He was sentenced for five life terms in prison, plus 40 years.

It is doubtful whether arresting and prosecuting him was diplomatically wise, but there is no doubting the political wisdom of releasing him.

During his years in prison, Barghouti has acted to restrain the armed struggle and bolster his people's moderate leadership, using envoys to achieve this goal. Barghouti never left his native West Bank, never took to the habits of power characteristic of the Palestine Liberation Organization leadership in Tunisia. He became a popular leader - especially in the West Bank, and to a lesser degree in the Gaza Strip.

Modern history - including Israel's - has known national leaders who turned to violence and were jailed for years, until they were released to become political leaders who marched their peoples toward independence peacefully. Nelson Mandela is one such example. The leaders of the Zionist undergrounds in prestate Israel are another. Now, Barghouti's turn has come. Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra deserves praise for speaking in favor of releasing Barghouti. Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer did not rule out the possibility either.

Fatah's moderate leadership is in a serious crisis. Israel's interest calls for its consolidation, albeit after outrageous delays, and no one matches Barghouti's ability to achieve that. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's promises in Washington that Israel would be willing to take "far-reaching" measures to assist the Palestinian Authority's emergency government must be backed by immediate action. Releasing prisoners is the first step one should demand of anyone who promises such steps.

The Israeli government should have long since helped Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to govern his people. Among other measures, it should have done this by allowing him to bring home real achievements. Releasing prisoners, Barghouti among them, could serve to change the atmosphere between Israel and the Palestinians in a heartbeat. It would prove the sincerity of Israel's statements regarding its intention to turn over a new leaf and bolster the moderate forces. The issue of prisoners who have been jailed for years holds extreme importance for Palestinian society. Any Palestinian leader who would succeed in bringing about their release will receive instant and widespread public sympathy.

The prime minister's statements must not remain empty words - especially not now, when a practical opportunity for dialogue with a moderate Palestinian leadership has presented itself. Now that Gaza has fallen into Hamas' hands, no effort should be spared in the attempt to salvage the West Bank from extremists. Barghouti as a free leader could greatly assist in achieving that.

Will Israel release Marwan Barghouti from jail?

Big news this morning: according to Ha'aretz, Abbas will ask the Israelis to release Marwan Barghouti from jail to help Fatah struggle against Hamas. If so, that would be a rather daring but smart move by the Imperial High Command: Marwan Barghouti is a 'next generation' secular Palestinian leader with far more credibility that imperial stooges like Abbas. Immensely popular among Palestinians, well-spoken and articulate with the press, Barghouti has impeccable anti-Imperial credentials. There is little doubt in my mind that if the Israelis were to release him he would be far more effective at handling the Hamas issue than Abbas and his minions.

According to the Ma'an news agency, Barghouti has just released the following statement from his jail cell:

From my dark, small prison cell, I address the great Palestinian people to do the following:

1. Condemn the military coup against the legitimate Palestinian Authority and its institutions in the Gaza Strip.
2. Consider the military coup by Hamas in Gaza a dangerous threat to the Palestinian unity and cause, a shift in the choice of resistance and the destruction of the principles of partnership.
3. Consider the coup a threat to the democratic process and democratic choice, which led Hamas to win the legislative elections.
4. Fully support the decision to compose a new Palestinian government under Salam Fayyad, hoping it will restore the sovereignty of law and end the state of chaos in order to protect the Palestinian unity.
5. Censure any attacks against people or institutions of the Hamas movement in the West Bank, and absolutely refuse the extension of chaos into the West Bank.
6. Call on President Abbas, as the general commander of the Fatah movement, to appoint a new leadership of Fatah in the Gaza Strip.
7. Dismiss all the leaders of the security services and appoint new leaders capable of reforming and developing the security institutions, relying on professionalism. This will render the security services more efficient in attempts to defend the Palestinian homeland and citizens.

Notice that he demands a complete purge of the gang of thugs usually referred to as "Fatah security services"? That will no doubt prove a very popular move among the Palestinian population who, unlike the corporate press, has no illusions about the corrupt nature of these "security services". This move will also secure Barghouti's power should he come out of jail. And in this lies the main question: will the Israelis release him?

The Israelis have accused Barghouti of being responsible for the attacks of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and of having "Jewish blood on his hands" which, in the self-declared ethno-religious "Jewish state" is, of course, the ultimate crime for which no Israeli politician can ever offer a pardon (non-Jewish blood has such a lesser value in their eyes that some Israelis seriously discuss whether it is permissible for a Jew to receive a blood transfusion from a Goy and, if yes, under what circumstances). To release him would thus be painful, but I bet you that the rabbis could, if needed, justify this by saying that such a huge concession would be permissible if that was done to free Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev (Jewish life being even more precious that Jewish blood).

In itself, such an exchange would have fascinating ramifications as it would require the collaboration of Hamas (in the case of Shalit) and Hezbollah (in the case of Goldwasser and Regev). Again - my bet is that Hamas and Hezbollah would go along with such an exchange, if only to further boost their popularity and because dealing with Barghouthi would be far preferable than dealing with Abbas.

My concern is that the crazies in the Imperial High Command will not agree to this idea. For them freeing Barghouthi would be too much of a price to pay politically and would entail too many risks in the long term. In the latter they would probably be correct as Barghouthi is unlikely to prove an obedient puppet like Abbas.

So the question the Israelis need to ask themselves is this: do they want a real negotiating partner or not? Do they want to secure the release of their three soliders? Do they finally want to stop pretend negotiating with Imperial puppets and get something done with the real representatives of the Palestinian people? Do they want to deal with the last credible secular Arab leader left or would they rather have to deal with the Islamists?

I sure hope they do, but I am afraid they won't.