Monday, February 05, 2007

Prisoner or Politician?

Periodically I read and hear about how Marwan Barghouti is calling the shots in Palestinian politics. Read this for instance:

"the most famous Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti, who from his prison cell last week sent his associate, the former minister Qadura Fares, and his lawyer, Khader Shkirat, to Damascus for talks with Khaled Meshal and the Hamas leadership. "

Now can someone please explain why a convicted terrorist who is serving five life sentences in jail has access to legal advisors and can run Palestinian politics from his jail cell? Is Israel allowing him a cellphone (excuse the pun!)? And how does he manage to have such powerful control of Palestinian affairs?

If Israel wants to treat him as a politician, then I don't understand why he is still in jail and how Israel can ignore its own court's rulings. And if he is an arch terrorist, then deny him any visitation rights by dignitaries and lawyers other than family members!

And yet, time and time again, we read that important diplomatic documents are being drafted by Barghouti. Something fishy is goin' on here! ...And how is it that I have never heard any journalist raise this question?

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