Who Is Marwan Barghouti... Tomorrow's Freedom

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

Marwan Barghouti (also transliterated al-Barghuthi; Arabic: مروان البرغوثي; born 6 June 1959) is a Palestinian political leader convicted and imprisoned for his role in deadly attacks against Israel.^[1] He is regarded as a leader of

the First and Second Intifadas. Barghouti at one time supported the peace process, but later became disillusioned after 2000, becoming a leader of Tanzim, a paramilitary offshoot of Fatah.^[2][3]

Barghouti was born in the village of Kobar in the West Bank in 1959. At the age of 15, he joined Fatah and co-founded its Youth Movement, and was consequently arrested by Israel three years later. During his four-year first imprisonment, Barghouthi completed his secondary education and gained fluency in Hebrew. In 1983, Barghouti enrolled at the Birzeit University and gained his B.A. in History and Political Science in 1994, earning soon after an M.A. in International Relations in 1998. In 1984, Barghouthi married a fellow student, Fadwa Ibrahim, a prominent advocate for Palestinian prisoners, who later became the leading campaigner for her husband's release during his current imprisonment.

Israeli authorities have called Barghouti a terrorist, accusing him of directing numerous attacks, including suicide bombings, against civilian and military targets alike.^[4] Barghouti was arrested by Israel Defense Forces in 2002 in Ramallah.^[1] He was tried and convicted on charges of murder, and sentenced to five life sentences. Marwan Barghouti refused to present a defense to the charges brought against him, maintaining throughout that the trial was illegal and illegitimate. Barghouti still exerts great influence in Fatah from within prison.^[5] With popularity reaching further than that, there has been some speculation whether he could be a unifying candidate in a bid to succeed Mahmud Abbas.^[6]

In the negotiations over the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Hamas insisted on including Barghouti in the deal with Israel;^[7][8] however, Israel was unwilling to concede to that demand. Despite initial reports that he was going to be released in the 11 October 2011 deal between Israel and Hamas, it was soon denied by Israeli sources.^[9][10] In November 2014, Barghouti urged the Palestinian Authority to immediately end security cooperation with Israel and called for a Third Intifada against Israel.^[11]

^{Full article:  Marwan Barghouti - Wikipedia}

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

In a dangerous or threatening situation one or two individuals within any group will remain cool and rise above the

rest who seem paralysed and incapable of action. Such individuals will exercise a focused judgement, will make decisions that may save or partly redeem a bad situation, will, in other words, show leadership (which is kin to showing courage) and in the process will become – often in opposition to their own humility – true heroes.

Similarly, throughout history, when a people finds itself in subjugation, oppressed and dispossessed – that is, facing a permanent threat which has dispirited and demoralised them – the righteousness of their cause amounts to nought in the absence of leadership, organisation and strategy.

Today, in the 21st century, right before our eyes, the Palestinian people are being destroyed by one of the cruellest and most cynical regimes in the Middle East, Israel, a state that is bankrolled by the US government. In flagrant breach of UN Resolution 242, first issued in 1967 and reaffirmed many times in the subsequent 36 years, Israel refuses to withdraw from the territories it occupied following the Six Day War. It continues to conquer, to build settlements – indeed, to build a Warsaw Wall through the West Bank, ghettoising the Palestinians and rendering impossible any viable Palestinian state.

It does this despite the fact that through superior violence and murder it has won from mainstream Palestinian groups recognition of the state of Israel. And in reaction it has spawned the phenomena of the suicide bombers.

I watch CNN fairly regularly. I was hooked on it especially during the debacle of the Florida count in the US presidential election in 2000. CNN has incredible resources, journalists or stringers in every capital of the world and breaks news with breathtaking speed. Millions in the US watch the channel and perhaps have their political opinions influenced by what they receive.

What I noticed – and this might not be the fault of CNN but rather a regrettable feature of the quality of Palestinian representatives and/or circumstance – is that in the aftermath of a particularly violent incident or dramatic development, the Israeli spokesperson is usually in a studio. He is suave, his English is impeccable (and often delivered in a North American accent) and he is questioned courteously.

On the other hand, the Palestinian spokesperson is often interviewed on a street corner or a makeshift studio. There is distortion or atmospherics on the feed, he usually speaks in broken English (unless, of course, it is Hanan Ashrawi) and is placed on the defensive by being pressed to distance himself from Palestinian violence.

A few years ago I noticed one Palestinian spokesperson in particular who stood out in stature above many others, including Yasser Arafat and the prime minister, Abu Mazen.

Full article:  Marwan Barghouti – A Palestinian Hero - Danny Morrison

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Kofi Bilal Mahmud Eid AlFitr 1443 A.H.

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