This man wont pave the way for a peace agreement He will pave the way for a third and united intifada. The press needs to stop giving voices to these hideous creatures who deserve to be in the same cells that Zygier was placed in

more place will be in the prison for innocent israeli politicians, Lieberman, Katzav, Olmert etc etc.

Bullshit!!!!!

Plain and simple...

how about any writer promoting his release be jailed in his stead so this manic is free to murder the authors family ??

This man is blind , He can only see a dream, let him dream

There Are people that live on illusione and dreams Who Are blind to' reality... This article is written by one of those "illusionists" for wich i feel sorry

The Pavlovian responses so far to this article are as certain as the operation of the law of gravity. When it comes down to it there is little to distinguish the 'thinking' of extreme right-wing Zionists from fanatical Islamists. Indeed, they feed - and need - each other. Making progress with a seemingly insoluble situation requires thinking the unthinkable. I don't know whether freeing Barghouti will pave the way to a solution but it is worth examining. Nothing else has worked to date. On the other hand I do recognise that there are many - on both sides - who have too much invested in a state of warfare. Thousands of people are maimed and killed but it does provide employment - and profits for the arms manufacturers and dealers. Much like the rest of the world.

In order to have peace, we have to release serial murderers? Strange idea, very strange. This is a non sequitor.

"'free barghouti.......", a convicted mass murder so maybe , maybe we can have "peace with the arabs?Nuts. Aanother dillusional, left wing micky mouse rubbish.get real.

the stupidity of this article is unbelievable

since Bargouti is a convict, he should be freed when his time is up, not a day earlier.

Stupid and naive idea. If he is the only hope for 'peace' then we are in trouble.

Er, for there to be a pardon, the prisoner has to admit that what he did was a crime.

Even if Barghouti would pursue a real peace (which I doubt), his popularity with the Pals would evaporate. We would have released a murderer for nothing. There is no evidence that Barghouti will not just return to terrorism.

A brave journalist, Amnon Shamosh. I once lived in Israel for some 10 years but since 1997 have lived in Australia. As an outsider therefore, I am cautious about my opinions but I have always conceived of Marwan Bargouti as a Palestinian Mandela. And, naive as I am, I have always trusted the openness of his face. I trust him more than most other Arab leaders and more than most Israeli leaders. Mandela was once considered a terrorist and for 27 years, South Africa was deprived of one of its greatest leaders. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned.

The State of Israel will free Barghouti the day that the United States orders the release of the Green River killer. Barghouti is responsible for far more deaths. If we free him, we'll send him your way. See how much you like that. I'm guessing -- not so much.

but not as ashamed as the author's parents should be.

So if this is to be taken seriously, what are the Palestinian's giving as part of this compromise? A promise to elect him leader when and if they hold elections again? What does Israel give? A man who was convicted of planning and committing multiple mass deaths. Israel also gives up most of its moral standing about trading prisoners with "blood on their hands" for nothing. If there was even the slightest chance that this mass murder would be able to influence a peaceful resolution, or even could make a meaningful commitment never to be involved in killing Israelis again, this would be worth considering. But he has had no remorse about the killings and we have seen how quickly freed prisoners return to their murderous ways.

The writer of this article is not thinking.

That The stupid school of the left continues to graduate such imbeciles. That way they will never again get to positions of power.

Your world must be a magical place filled with flying bunnies, sugared raindrops and glittering red hearts floating in the sky. I bet you even have a yellow brick road that leads straight to Amoz Oz's house.

I see that you have bought into the lie that "one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter". To me the difference is obvious. The terrorist attacks innocent, unarmed people while the terrorist attacks only the military or those whose job is to support the military. Yhus, the people that attacked the US Marine barracks in Lebenon can be considered resistance fighters while the recent bombing in a Pakistani market is terrorism. Attacking civilians in buses or cars is terrorism while attacking a convoy of enemy troops is not.

in prison firstly for his safety and secondly for when negotiations start next month. The same model used in South Africa and Northern Ireland shows us the way forward

As a possible future leader of all the Palestinian people the press should have access to him while still in jail. If he insists on Nov 30 1947 UN Mandated borders with "right of return" and East Jerusalem as the Palestinian Capital then he is no stronger or better than Arafat , Abbas , Meshal, or Haniyeh. If on the other hand he says he is willing to negotiate the realities of 2013 then yes I am okay with him getting a pardon.