JERUSALEM, 7 June 2004 — An Israeli court yesterday senteneced Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti to five consecutive life terms for his role in deadly attacks on Israelis.
Barghouti was given 40 years — the maximum sentence — after he was convicted last month of involvement in shootings that killed four Israelis and a Greek monk. The ruling said Barghouti was “involved up to his neck in terror activity.”
Before the sentencing, Barghouti rejected the right of the court to judge him, to the cheers of supporters in the courtroom. “The Israeli courts are a partner to the Israeli occupation,” Barghouti said. “The judges are just like pilots who fly planes and drop bombs.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government yesterday approved an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in principle, but a last-minute compromise with Cabinet hard-liners diluted a historic decision and shrouded the fate of 21 Israeli settlements in Gaza in uncertainty.
The wording of the decision was vague enough to allow both Sharon and rebellious ministers from his Likud party to claim victory.
It deferred a political crisis, but did not resolve the deep divisions within Sharon’s center-right coalition over the dismantling of settlements.
In the Cabinet meeting, ministers were asked to approve a revised version of Sharon’s US-backed “disengagement plan,” which calls for the gradual dismantling of all Gaza settlements and four in the West Bank by the end of 2005. A majority of Israelis backs a withdrawal.
The plan endorsed yesterday authorizes the government to begin preparations for the dismantling of settlements. However, Likud hard-liners attached a disclaimer, insisting that the vote did not amount to approval for removing settlements.
However, Sharon said after the meeting that “disengagement has begun.”
“The government decided today that by the end of 2005, Israel will leave Gaza and four settlements in the West Bank,” Sharon told a large crowd of Jewish teens visiting Israel.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said Palestinians “welcome any Israeli withdrawal from any part of our Palestinian land ... if the withdrawal is total and comprehensive, which includes dismantling all the settlements.”
Other Palestinian officials responded with skepticism. “If approving this fragmented plan took the Israeli government this long, I wonder how much time it will take to implement it,” said Palestinian Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat.
Barghouti was the West Bank leader of Fatah, the mainstream Palestinian political force. Among the most popular leaders of the young generation, Barghouti, 45, has been mentioned as one of the possible successors to Yasser Arafat, with whom he has had a stormy relationship.
For years the small, energetic Barghouti was a close ally of Israeli peace activists, advocating creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel.
However, with the outbreak of violence in September 2000, Barghouti became a strong backer of resistance against Israeli occupation.
