Barghouti put in isolation at Hadarim Prison after calling for armed resistance

Palestinian figure serving life sentence called for armed resistance in order "to be faithful to the legacy of Arafat," on 10th anniversary of late Palestinian leader's death.

By BEN HARTMAN, KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Jailed Fatah official Marwan Barghouti (photo credit: REUTERS)
Jailed Fatah official Marwan Barghouti
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Marwan Barghouti, who led Fatah’s Tanzim militia during the second intifada and has been in Israeli custody since April 2002, was placed in a week’s isolation in Hadarim Prison after calling on Tuesday for Palestinians to carry out armed resistance against Israel, the Prisons Service confirmed on Wednesday.
Barghouti was also fined several hundred shekels.
On Tuesday, in a letter he published to mark the 10th anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death, Barghouti said that violence is the quickest way for Palestinians to free themselves from the “occupation.”
Palestinians should resort to “comprehensive resistance and the rifle” and end their security cooperation with Israel, he said.
Barghouti is serving five life sentences for his role in five murders during the second intifada.
In the letter, he called for the Palestinian Authority leadership to boycott Israel and stop its security cooperation with the IDF in the West Bank, which he said “solidifies occupation and causes huge damage to the national interests of the Palestinian people.”
Barghouti called on the Palestinians to stick to Arafat’s legacy and principles and said that Arafat and slain leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were “martyred while they were still carrying the rifle.”
The senior Fatah leader urged PA leadership to take a “brave and immediate” decision to go to the UN Security Council and join all international organizations, first and foremost the International Criminal Court.
“It’s time to stop betting on the mirage of negotiations [with Israel],” Barghouti said.


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