OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 15 August — Marwan Barghouti was a picture of defiance at his trial in a Tel Aviv court yesterday. "The intifada will win," the bearded West Bank Fatah leader shouted in Hebrew at reporters outside the Tel Aviv District Court where he was charged with killings of scores of Israelis in a political move that analysts said would likely boomerang.

Barghouti, handcuffed and wearing an Israeli prison uniform, was not asked to enter a formal plea during the 15-minute inaugural session. His lawyers argued that Israeli courts had no authority to try their client, a member of the Palestinian legislature. The court proceedings against Barghouti, who is often mentioned as a possible successor to Arafat, will resume Sept. 5.

Israel was expected to use the proceedings against Barghouti as a showcase for allegations that groups linked to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat are tainted by terrorism. But legal analysts say the case could boomerang against Israel as Barghouti’s Palestinian lawyers could use the media spotlight to present their client as the victim of a politically motivated bid to discredit the Palestinian Authority.

"Marwan Barghouti is fighting for peace," Barghouti told reporters in court before the session. Prosecutor Dvora Chen said Barghouti was charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder and "activities in a terrorist organization". The indictment cited 37 attacks in which 26 people were killed and scores wounded.

Barghouti, seized by Israeli forces in the West Bank in April, says he is a political leader and not involved in violence. He has said he strongly opposes attacks on civilians in Israel but reserves the right to resist Israeli occupation. He could face life in prison if convicted of murder.

Striking the first blow in what his lawyer has said would be an Israeli show trial, Barghouti — holding his handcuffed wrists in the air and surrounded by Israeli police — shouted his message to reporters in Hebrew, English and Arabic. "Peace will be achieved by the end of the occupation. No peace, no security, with the occupation," he said before Judge Zvi Gurfinkel called the court into session.

Once the proceedings got under way, Barghouti demanded to be heard. "When can I speak? he shouted. "You have excellent lawyers. When the time comes, you can speak. This is a procedural session right now," Gurfinkel said.

Witnesses listed on the indictment included two detained Palestinians, Nasser Abu Hmeid and Nasser Awais, identified by Israeli authorities as Barghouti’s deputies.

Hours after Barghouti’s court appearance, Israeli forces killed a wheelchair-bound Hamas leader when they shelled a house he was staying in and flattened it with a bulldozer in the northern West Bank village of Tubas. Hamas vowed to avenge the death of 44-year-old Nasr Jarrar.

Israel’s Security Cabinet, meanwhile, set the lines for a West Bank security fence that could influence future border talks with the Palestinians. Israeli political sources said at some points the barrier, aimed at stopping Palestinians from crossing into Israel, would run at least five km (three miles) deep into the West Bank. The line approved by the Security Cabinet would put at least six Jewish settlements inside Israeli-seized territory where Palestinians would not be able to enter, the sources said. Israel has built 145 settlements, housing some 200,000 Israelis, on land occupied in the 1967 Middle East war. The international community regards settlements as illegal under international law.

Construction has already begun on some sections of the $200-million barrier, which will be a cement wall in some places and an electric wire fence in others. Israeli authorities say the 110-km (65-mile) fence will be completed in a year. The fence’s construction is opposed by both Palestinians and Jewish settlers, but for very different reasons.