Barghouti: More kidnappings if top prisoners not freed
Jailed Fatah leader says if senior prisoners not freed in swap deal for Shalit, it will only spur more abductions. During meeting with MK Taleb El-Sana, Barghouti says Israel responsible for kidnappings: Hostage situation wouldn’t have happened if Palestinian, Lebanese prisoners were freed
If senior Palestinian security prisoners are not released as part of the prisoner swap deal to free kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, more kidnappings will likely ensue, jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said.
Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison, expressed this view during a one-and-a-half hour meeting Wednesday with MK Taleb El-Sana at the prison's visiting quarters. In addition to Shalit’s release, the two discussed the pending PA unity government and the implications of the war in Lebanon.
El-Sana said he came away with the impression that Barghouti was in heightened spirits and that he was familiar with the smallest details of the political realities in both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
According to El-Sana, during their conversation Barghouti charged Israel with responsibility for the kidnappings. If Israel had agreed to free Samir Kuntar, the kidnappings in Lebanon could have been avoided, and Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners would have not only prevented the snatching of Shalit, but also strengthened Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' leadership.
Barghouti added, “Just as Gilad Shalit is important to his family and country, so is every Palestinian prisoner.”
It has already been proven that the prisoners are the true leaders of the Palestinian people, he declared, as only they could draft the list of principles which became a basis of unity for the Palestinians, and came to be known as the ‘Prisoners’ Document.’
He noted that any step towards a prisoner swap deal must be approved by the prisoners themselves, and therefore if the deal doesn’t include senior detainees – it will only invite additional kidnappings.
‘Recognize Oslo agreements’
Regarding talks towards a Palestinian unity government, Barghouti noted that he did not regret Hamas’ participation in elections because Palestinians want a pluralistic democratic state.
He said Hamas erred when it set up a cabinet comprising only Hamas members rather than a unity government, which is “a chief Palestinian interest and a step that will end the blockade and suffering of the Palestinian people, and will prevent civil war.”
El-Sana said that Barghouti believes in the supreme importance of Palestinian unity, especially now considering the developments in the Middle East following the war in Lebanon, which “exposed the limits of power” and will soon hail in a diplomatic transformation.
Barghouti said the future Palestinian government would be based on the Prisoners’ Document, which included establishing a Palestinian state on the 1967 border – which in his view constitutes a revolutionary precedent. He added that the unity government must accept all prior agreements signed with Israel, including the Oslo agreements which recognize Israel’s right to exist.
“We don’t have to demand every Palestinian organization recognize Israel,” he said. “It is enough that the PLO, which is the roof over the other Palestinian organizations, and the Palestinian government recognize Israel.”
He also remarked that in any case, the essence of negotiation issues is in the hands of Abbas and not the Palestinian government. Abbas is not weak – but Israel is weakening him, Barghouti purported. “Since he rose to power the number of prisoners has only grown. Who is responsible for that if not Israel?” he questioned.
MK El-Sana said he believed his meeting with Barghouti contributed to the progress of the prisoner exchange issue. “I don’t believe a deal will go through without the blessing of the Palestinian prisoners, and it is important to recruit them towards this effort,” El-Sana told Ynet after the meeting.
