The Day After Leader for Palestinians: Case for Marwan Barghouti
The fourth trip, since Oct 7, was the ‘charm’ for diplomacy shuttling? US Secretary of State Blinken in securing commitments from Arab leaders, led by Saudi Arabia Crown Prince, Mohd Bin Salman, for the day after rebuilding of Gaza, but also…?
‘Blinken’s major achievement on the trip was getting a commitment from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and four other Arab leaders to help rebuild Gaza after the war, multiple senior administration officials said. The Arab leaders also agreed to support a new, reformed Palestinian government to secure Gaza.
‘The Saudi crown prince offered to normalize relations with Israel as part of a Gaza reconstruction agreement — a diplomatic development Netanyahu has long sought — but only if the Israeli leader agrees to provide Palestinians with a pathway to statehood…Netanyahu rejected the offer, officials said, telling Blinken that he’s not prepared to make a deal that allows for a Palestinian state. And now three senior U.S. officials say the Biden administration is looking past Netanyahu to try to achieve its goals in the region. Several senior U.S. officials told NBC News that Netanyahu “will not be there forever.”’ Frustrations between Biden and Israeli PM Netanyahu mount
[The Day After Options: One state Solution: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good: One State Approach? Or? Two State Solution: Can a New Palestinian Authority with a Political Horizon push Netanyahu Towards a 2 State Solution? ]?
?The follow up question is who should lead the ‘new, reformed Palestinian government,’ Sullivan says Palestinian Authority must be 'revamped' before it can govern Gaza | The Times of Israel. Maybe the other follow-up point is who can lead Israel, ‘in an attempt to work around Netanyahu, Blinken also met individually with members of his war Cabinet and other Israeli leaders, including opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid.’ ?This should have been a special? (and can still be) session at the 2024 World Economic Forum, WEF, as the signaling impact would be immense.?
Present stories out of WEF:
Case for Marwan Barghouti
1. “We Israelis will have security only when they, Palestinians, will have hope. This is the equation…To say the same in military language: you cannot deter anyone, a person or a group, if he believes he has nothing to lose.” Ami Ayalon,? former leader of the Shin Bet domestic security force (and) retired admiral who also commanded Israel’s navy and was wounded in battle and decorated for his service.
‘He believes releasing Barghouti, Marwan Barghouti - Wikipedia,? a Palestinian who has been jailed since 2002, serving a life sentence for murder after leading the second intifada, would be a vital step towards meaningful negotiations…He is the only leader who can lead Palestinians to a state alongside Israel. First of all because he believes in the concept of two states, and secondly because he won his legitimacy by sitting in our jails.” Ex-Shin Bet head says Israel should negotiate with jailed intifada leader?
2. In 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traded 1,027 Palestinian prisoners (280 of them serving life sentences) to obtain the release of a single Israeli soldier captured five years earlier… Meanwhile, an estimated 5,200 Palestinians languish in Israeli jails—and among them is one man who may hold the key to peace: Marwan Barghouti, considered by some to be Palestine’s Nelson Mandela…Alon Liel, formerly Israel’s most senior diplomat, has proposed just that. Deeming him “the ultimate leader of the Palestinian people,” Liel believes “he is the only one who can extricate us from the quagmire we are in.”
[As early as 2008, polling data revealed that Barghouti was far more popular among Palestinians than any other possible leader, including President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. But his very popularity was a problem for Prime Minister Netanyahu…As Hebrew University professor Dmitry Shumsky has pointed out, it has long been the unannounced policy of Netanyahu to undermine the more moderate Palestinian Authority by bolstering Hamas, which shares his hatred of the two-state solution.]
‘The influential Israeli newspaper Haaretz captured the underlying dynamic well as far back as 2012, stating flatly in an editorial, “If Israel had wanted an agreement with the Palestinians it would have released him from prison by now. Barghouti is the most authentic leader Fatah has produced and he can lead his people to an agreement.”
‘And while Barghouti rejected violence in the early years of the Oslo peace process, claiming in 1994 that “the armed struggle is no longer an option for us,” he later embraced armed struggle as he watched Israel expand settlements in the West Bank and consolidate control. But by 2012, Barghouti admitted that the turn to violence during the Second Intifada had been a grave error, and has repeatedly stated that he supports only unarmed resistance.
‘Barghouti supports, in exchange for an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, permanent peace between Israel and Palestine as “independent and equal neighbors.” As such, he stands in stark contrast to Hamas’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who steadfastly refuses to recognize Israel. Time to Free Palestine’s Nelson Mandela - The American Prospect?
3. ‘All agree on the need for elections and leadership renewal. Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas in Gaza, is considered by most Israelis to be violent and ruthless. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has never even considered dialogue with Israel and has never indicated that it differentiates between civilian and military targets on its violent path. Both Hamas and PIJ leaders have no majority support, while Barghouti is supported across all factions, including Hamas and the PIJ. Nine years have passed since the last talks between Israelis and Palestinians took place, and there are no signs of any return to the negotiating table…In December 2016, Marwan Barghouti won first place in the elections for the Fateh Central Committee, after running for the position from his prison cell. On March 16, 2021, he announced (via his supporters) that he planned to run for the presidency of the PA. Unfortunately, those elections were postponed, and no new date has been set for them, but that need not affect Israel’s assessment of the advantages to be gained from freeing Barghouti…Enough is enough. We must release Marwan Barghouti from prison, conditional on his unequivocal promise to seek peace, and we must begin to believe him. The Palestinians do not have a more important or braver leader. In the end, he might well be the leader of our neighboring people, and the sooner he is freed, the better Israeli-Palestinian neighborly relations will be in the future.’ PIJ.ORG: Give Peace a Chance – Free Marwan Barghouti By Alon Liel
4. From Haaretz, The Palestinians Need a Popular Leader Who Can Get Things Done. Being From Gaza Is a Plus?
If not Abbas, then who should lead the Palestinians in the day after. The day after planning requires examining the potential candidates today and picking one that the Palestinians, Israelis, and US accept.?
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‘When it comes to internal Palestinian politics, there is no consensus as to who?
could immediately and naturally take the reins in the West Bank and Gaza?
with broad legitimacy. The only figure that could gain support across the board?
from all factions is Marwan Barghouti, who is imprisoned in Israel.
In all surveys conducted over the past decade, Barghouti has?
received the greatest measure of support as leader, including?
one published last week by the Palestinian Center for Policy and?
Survey Research, Barghouti – getting an average of 55 percent, taking?
into account data from both the West Bank and Gaza. However, it's?
doubtful that he can get released (as part of a deal to release the?
hostages remaining in Gaza, perhaps), and be prepared for an?
executive position. The Palestinians Need a Popular Leader Who Can Get Things Done. Being From Gaza Is a Plus?
5. AMY GOODMAN: And can you talk about some of the leaders who are imprisoned by Israel right now, like, for example, Marwan Barghouti?
PETER BEINART: Right. So, I think one of the problems in Palestinian politics is that there’s a whole generation of leaders, really, who are in jail, most famously, Marwan Barghouti, the nationalist leader. He’s not an Islamist like Hamas. Polling consistently shows he’s the most popular Palestinian leader.
And I think Israel needs to think about what its political strategy is here. You can’t defeat Hamas militarily, because even if you depose it in Gaza, you will be laying the seeds for the next group of people who will be fighting Israel. We know that Hamas recruits from the families of people that Israel has killed. You need, it seems to me, to support Palestinian leaders who offer a vision of ethical resistance, not what we saw on October 7th, but ethical resistance, and a path to Palestinian freedom, that also means safety for Israeli Jews.
Marwan Barghouti, although he was involved in armed attacks during the Second Intifada, has spoken from jail about the path of Nelson Mandela, about reconciliation, about justice not vengeance. If Israel wanted legitimate Palestinian leaders that it could work with to build a horizon for Palestinian freedom, because only Palestinian freedom in the long run will ensure Israeli Jewish safety, then it could let him out and create the beginnings of a more legitimate Palestinian leadership, rather than Mahmoud Abbas, who’s viewed as a corrupt, authoritarian subcontractor of Israel at this point.’ Peter Beinart: Israel Will Only Be Secure & Safe If Palestinians Are Given Freedom | Democracy Now!?
6. ‘Many Palestinian nationals and humanitarian aid workers have once again called on Israel to release him. One of the possible options being discussed for the future of the besieged Palestinian enclave involves Barghouti, who has been detained by Israel since 2002…
Israel is also wary of Barghouti because of his ability to galvanize a divided Palestinian national movement and challenge the gains made by Israel in Ramallah. Unlike other figures in the Palestinian Authority, Barghouti has not been accused of collaborating with the Israeli authorities.
Barghouti’s position has helped increase his popularity among the Palestinian population over the years. “His imprisonment is in fact one of the reasons why Marwan is so popular," noted Hamada Jaber, consultant at the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR)
"Within the current landscape, Barghouti has the advantage of representing a third option between the current leadership of Fatah and Hamas…The biggest losers from the possible release of Marwan Barghouti would be the current leaders of Fateh….Marwan's popularity can largely be explained by the fact that he represents a protest vote against Mahmoud Abbas…Within the current landscape, Barghouti has the advantage of representing a third option between the current leadership of Fatah and Hamas.’ Marwan Barghouti, a potential post-war leader for Palestine? - L'Orient Today?
7. From Al-Monitor: ‘Many Palestinians believe that Barghouti would be able to rebuild the Palestine Liberation Organization after almost two decades of stagnation under octogenarian Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and facilitate a reconciliation government, a message that resonates with young Palestinians. ? Could Marwan Barghouti lead post-war Palestinian government? - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East?
Conclusion
‘Marwan (Barghouti), considered by some to be Palestine’s Nelson Mandela, popularity can largely be explained by the fact that he represents a protest vote against Mahmoud Abbas…has the advantage of representing a third option between the current leadership of Fatah and Hamas…and Arab states like Jordan and Egypt...have shown support for him in the past and could be motivated by the desire to maintain their own stability.’?
Marwan Barghouti, is not the perfect answer, but good enough and better than the present option for Palestinians, Israel and US.