US pushing Israel to release Barghouti to strengthen Fatah - report
US has been reviewing with Israel the possibility to release Marwan Barghouti, report says
Manama: The US administration has been reviewing with Israel the possibility to release Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian Fatah leader sentenced to five life terms, and enable him to run in the expected elections against Hamas, a Kuwaiti daily has reported.
Although secular Fatah has long been the dominant force in Palestinian politics, Islamist Hamas won a sweeping victory in the last elections in the territories.
In 2007, the two factions faced each other in a bitter power struggle and the confrontations resulted in a division of the Palestinian forces into two separate entities. Fatah kept the West Bank, but Hamas had control over Gaza.
With talk about new elections in the territories, the Americans believe that Barghouti, who was arrested in 2002 in Ramallah and sentenced on charges of murder, could offset Hamas growing influence.
Reports from several Arab capitals that incumbent President Mahmoud Abbas would not seek re-election have sparked concerns within the US that Hamas, Israel's nemesis, would reinforce its power over the Palestinians territories by dominating the parliamentary and presidential elections in both the West Bank and Gaza, Al Qabas newspaper said, in a report from Al Quds that cited Israeli sources.
"A high-profile US delegation has regularly discussed with officials in Tel Aviv the option to free Al Barghouti to lead Fatah against Hamas in the next elections," the sources that the daily did not identify, said.
However, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vehemently opposed releasing the 52-year-old Palestinian leader, known by Palestinians as the "Prince of Resistance" and highly respected as the symbol of an almost three-year Palestinian uprising for independence.
"Netanyahu believes that Barghouti is an extension of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and that the pair had been involved in the death of dozens of Israelis during the second intifada (uprising)," the sources said.
Writing for Israeli daily Haaretz in October, Yitzhak Laor explained that "Netanyahu prefers a strong Hamas, since he prefers a dead end".
"This is why he prefers to leave in prison the two most important Palestinian leaders, those who can bring about a solution - Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat," he wrote.
According to Al Qabas sources, several Israeli officials, including Benjamin Ben Aliazer, former defence minister Amir Peretz, and top leaders from the security agencies do not object to releasing Barghouti, explaining that he was one of the most committed Palestinian to achieving peace with Israel.
"Washington has told Israel to seriously look at the available Palestinian options, especially that Israel will not be able to stop any Palestinian elections if they are held," the sources said.
