THE TROUBLE WITH BARGHOUTI

The Trouble with Barghouti - Editorial (Jerusalem Post)
There is considerable distance between jailed Palestinian Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and the "new leadership, not compromised by terror" that the U.S. president has been calling for. If there is anyone more responsible than Arafat for the needless terror war that has cost thousands of Israelis and Palestinians their lives, it is Barghouti, who proudly claims to be that war's architect.

Barghouti told the London-based Al-Hayat one year after the attacks began: "I knew that the end of the month of September [2000] would be the last opportunity before the explosion, but when Sharon arrived at Al-Aksa Mosque it was the most suitable moment for the breakout of the intifada....The meaning of this [was an opportunity for] setting fire to the entire region, since the issue of Al-Aksa inflames and ignites the sensibilities of the masses."

"There were those who were opposed to the conflict," Barghouti continued. "At the same time, I saw within the situation a historic opportunity to ignite the conflict....After Sharon left, I stayed in the area for two hours with other well-known people and we spoke...of how people should react in all the towns and villages and not only in Jerusalem. We made contact with all the factions."

The "intifada," in other words, did not just "break out." It was broken out through considerable and premeditated effort, in large part by Barghouti.

Barghouti's indictment before an Israeli civilian court accused him of direct involvement in 33 separate attacks, including suicide bombings, roadside shootings, and other attempted murders. The court found sufficient evidence to convict him of five murders, for which he was sentenced to five consecutive life terms in prison.

If a majority of Palestinians want Barghouti to lead them, why should Israel insist on keeping him in jail? The reason is a matter of both national dignity and the rule of law. If Palestinians want to elect terrorist leaders from Hamas or Fatah, it is their right to do so. But it is quite another matter for Israel to actively facilitate such a choice by ignoring the judgment of its own legal system and any elementary notion of justice.