Barghouti sent to isolation after Israel comments

Ma’an News, Jan 26, 2012

Marwan Barghouti pictured during an interview from his prison cell in 2006.(MaanImages/file) RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti was sent to solitary confinement on Wednesday after making critical comments about Israel to journalists. After testifying in a Jerusalem court on Wednesday the Fatah leader briefly spoke to reporters. Upon returning to Hadarim prison in Israel, Barghouti was not allowed back into his regular cell and was instead put in isolation, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said Thursday. Detainees in the prison protested the move and asked prison authorities to explain their decision. Israeli authorities have not responded. Barghouti, the former secretary-general of Fatah in the West Bank, told journalists that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would only be resolved when the occupation comes to an end and Israel withdraws to the pre-1967 borders. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society condemned the Israeli decision to isolate him and called on human rights organizations to stop violations against Palestinian leaders in jail. The Fatah leader has been serving a life sentence since 2004 and has been widely viewed as a contender to succeed Mahmoud Abbas as president.

Barghouthi: Negotiations doomed to fail

Maan News, November 19, 2009

Marwan Barghouti Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Negotiations with Israel will achieve nothing, jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi told Reuters in an interview published on Thursday. Through written messages passed from the prison via his lawyer, Bargouthi urged Palestinians to embark on popular and diplomatic campaigns to achieve statehood, the news agency reported. Continued >>

Peace Prospects after the Fatah Congress

By Patrick Seale, Agence Global, Aug 17, 2009

U.S. President Barack Obama is widely expected to announce his peace plan for the Middle East this coming month. He is convinced that America’s national interests — and Israel’s long-term security — demand a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace settlement, including the end of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians on the basis of a two-state solution.

Obama’s determination creates a unique opportunity which Arabs and Israelis should seize with both hands if they are to resolve an obdurate conflict which has brought them nothing but pain.

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