Marwan Barghouti

Marwan Hasib Ibrahim Barghouti (also transliterated al-Barghuthi; مروان حسيب ابراهيم البرغوثي; born 6 June 1959) is a Palestinian political figure convicted and imprisoned for murder by an Israeli court.

He is regarded as a leader of the First and Second Intifadas.

He has stated that, "I, and the Fatah movement to which I belong, strongly oppose attacks and the targeting of civilians inside Israel, our future neighbor, I reserve the right to protect myself, to resist the Israeli occupation of my country and to fight for my freedom" and has said, "I still seek peaceful coexistence between the equal and independent countries of Israel and Palestine based on full withdrawal from Palestinian territories occupied in 1967."

As the Palestinian death toll in the Second Intifada increased, Barghouti called for Palestinians to target Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza.

During the second intifada Barghouti was accused by Israel of being a senior member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, an organization which conducted numerous attacks and suicide bombings on civilians both within and outside of Israel proper, and has been accused of having directed some of these bombings personally.

While some Palestinian militants advocated adopting tactics based on those used by Hezbollah to drive the Israeli army out of Lebanon, Barghouti was seen as less radical, supporting violent actions based on popular movements but exclusively within the Palestinian territories.

By the age of 18 in 1976, Barghouti was arrested by Israel for his involvement with Palestinian militant groups.

He completed his secondary education and received a high school diploma while serving a four-year term in jail, where he gained fluency in Hebrew.

Barghouti enrolled at Birzeit University (BZU) in 1983, though arrest and exile meant that he did not receive his B.A. (History and Political Science) until 1994.

On 21 October 1984, he married a fellow student, Fadwa Ibrahim.

Fadwa took bachelor's and master's degrees in law and was a prominent advocate in her own right on behalf of Palestinian prisoners, before becoming the leading campaigner for her husband's release from his current jail term.

The couple has a daughter, Ruba (born 1986), and three sons, Qassam (born 1985), Sharaf (born 1989) and Arab (born 1990).

Barghouti became one of the major leaders in the West Bank of the First Intifada in 1987, leading Palestinians in a mass uprising against Israeli occupation.

During the uprising, he was arrested by Israel and deported to Jordan for incitement, where he stayed for seven years until he was permitted to return under the terms of the Oslo Accords in 1994.

Although he was a strong supporter of the peace process he doubted that Israel was committed to land-for-peace deals.

In 1996, he was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council, following which he began his active advocacy of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Barghouti campaigned against corruption in Arafat's administration and human rights violations by its security services, and he established relationships with a number of Israeli politicians and members of Israel's peace movement.

The formal position occupied by Barghouti was Secretary-General of Fatah in the West Bank.

He earned an M.A. in International Relations, also from Birzeit, in 1998.

As an undergraduate, he was active in student politics on behalf of Fatah and headed the BZU Student Council.

Barghouti at one time supported the peace process, but later became disillusioned, and after 2000 went on to become a leader of the Second Intifada from the West Bank.

Barghouti was a leader of Tanzim, a paramilitary offshoot of Fatah.

Israeli authorities have called Barghouti a terrorist, accusing him of directing numerous attacks, including suicide bombings, against civilian and military targets alike.

By the summer of 2000, particularly after the Camp David summit failed, Barghouti was disillusioned and said that popular protests and "new forms of military struggle" would be features of the "next Intifada".

In September 2000, the Second Intifada began.

Barghouti became increasingly popular as a leader of the Fatah armed branch, the Tanzim, seen as one of the major forces fighting against the Israel Defense Forces.

Barghouti led marches to Israeli checkpoints, where riots broke out against Israeli soldiers and spurred on Palestinians in speeches at funerals and demonstrations, condoning the use of force to expel Israel from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Barghouti was arrested by Israel Defense Forces in 2002 in Ramallah.

He was tried and convicted on charges of murder, and sentenced to five life sentences.

Marwan Barghouti refused to present a defense to the charges brought against him, maintaining throughout that the trial was illegal and illegitimate.

Barghouti still exerts great influence in Fatah from within prison.

With popularity reaching further than that, there has been some speculation whether he could be a unifying candidate in a bid to succeed Mahmud Abbas.

In the negotiations over the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Hamas insisted on including Barghouti in the deal with Israel; however, Israel was unwilling to concede to that demand.

Despite initial reports that he was going to be released in the 11 October 2011 deal between Israel and Hamas, it was soon denied by Israeli sources.

In November 2014, Barghouti urged the Palestinian Authority to immediately end security cooperation with Israel and called for a Third Intifada against Israel.

Barghouti was born in the village of Kobar near Ramallah, and comes from the Barghouti clan, an extended family from Deir Ghassaneh.

Mustafa Barghouti, a fellow Palestinian political figure, is a distant cousin.

Barghouti was one of seven children, and his father was a migrant worker in Lebanon.

His younger brother Muqbel described him as "a naughty and rebellious boy".

Barghouti joined Fatah at age 15, and he was a co-founder of the Fatah Youth Movement (Shabiba) on the West Bank.