Why is Egypt calling on Israel to release Marwan al-Barghouti?
Sentenced to five life terms plus 40 additional years in an Israeli prison, jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti is now gaining supporters calling for his release, including Cairo.
“Running for President.” “A Nobel Peace Prize.” “Egyptian efforts to secure his release.” “Establishing strategic relations with Hamas.” “Reformulating the relationship with the occupation.” All are phrases used in connection with Palestinian Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, imprisoned since 2002 in the Hadarim prison in Israel and serving five consecutive life sentences for charges of murder and attempted murder.
Calls for his release over the last several years have never stopped. If anything, they have grown more frequent of late to an unusual degree — perhaps owing to the recent revelation by his wife, Fadwa Barghouti, in a televised interview Feb. 25 with the i24news channel that he plans to run for president in the coming Palestinian elections, repeating statements by many in the media. His intention to run was connected to his proposal for a new vision — which he declared in an interview April 18 with the Hamas-affiliated Palestinian Center for Media — about establishing strategic relations with Hamas based on 10 main principles, and it also was connected to another proposal for a new vision published in the Journal of Palestine Studies on May 9 arguing against negotiations as a means of dealing with Israel. This stands in marked contrast with the policies of Fatah.
