Hadash Chairman Mohammad Barakeh met Saturday morning with former Fatah Secretary-General in the West Bank Marwan Barghouti, who is jailed in Israel.
The two met at the Rimonim Prison, where Barghouti is serving five life sentences, following a conversation between Knesset Member Barakeh and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Barakeh may have conveyed to Barghouti messages from Abbas, as in the meeting, which also dealt with the internal conflict in the Palestinian Authority, Barghouti presented his plan for a new internal Palestinian arrangement both in the PLO and in Fatah.
According to Barghouti, significant progress had been made ahead of the establishment of a unity government and there was a need to establish a government which would be able "to remove the siege imposed on the Palestinian people and strengthen the decent camp inside Israel."
'Struggle for honor and freedom'
During the meeting, Barghouti said that establishing a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders including East Jerusalem, allowing the refugees to return, and releasing the prisoners is “the minimum the Palestinian people can accept”.
“We’re struggling for a small country in size, but a large one in honor and freedom. The Palestinian people tried resistance without negotiation, and negotiation without resistance, and the truth is there is no other way but resistance to the 1967 occupier while keeping in mind the diplomatic horizon,” he said.
Barghouti added that he supported the meeting between Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert “despite the fact that Israel didn’t uphold any of the decisions that Olmert promised”.
According to him, that was further proof that all the purpose of all the talks to strengthen Abbas were only meant to harm the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and put a dent in its national plans.
‘Holding prisoners Israeli stupidity’
Barghouti called for a continuation of the ceasefire, which he felt expressed the true interest of the Palestinians, and objected to the harming of civilians. He warned of the continuation of the internal conflict and said the prisoners would announce a hunger strike until clashes came to a halt.
Barghouti urged Barakeh to get involved in the issue, while that latter stressed that Barghouti played an extremely important role in the attempts to bring about Palestinian unity.
He also referred to the issue of the prisoners and said that keeping 11 thousand prisoners in Israeli jails reflected “Israeli diplomatic stupidity”.
Barakeh said that the prisoner issue was the most burning Palestinian issue, and that true calm would only be made possible after a significant number of prisoners were released.
“Barghouti and his companions belong with their people, and not behind bars,” he said.