Marwan Barghouti, a convicted terrorist jailed in Israel, said he will be the president of a Palestinian state.
Barghouti also said in an interview reported Dec. 26 on Israel’s Channel 10 and conducted jointly with the newspaper Haaretz that he, unlike Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, would not promise that there would not be a third intifada, although he believes it could be a nonviolent uprising.
Military censors did not allow the actual film of the interview to be broadcast. Instead, Barghouti’s comments were repeated by reporters. The interview took place in November during Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza.
A member of the ruling Fatah party led by Abbas, Barghouti is among the most popular Palestinian leaders. Fatah controls the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and officially supports the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Barghouti is serving five consecutive life sentences and an additional 40 years for terrorist activity. He was arrested on April 15, 2002. — jta