GAZA CITY/RAMALLAH, 17 April 2007 — Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said yesterday that Marwan Barghouthi, a Palestinian uprising leader, is on a list of prisoners the Hamas movement demands Israel release in exchange for a captive soldier. His comments contradicted those of Deputy Prime Minister Azzam Al-Ahmad of Fatah, who said that Barghouthi, a Fatah member seen as a possible successor to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, had been left off the roster.
“I can confirm to you that the list (of prisoners) included the name of Marwan Al-Barghouthi,” Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, said during a weekly protest by families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Hamas, one of three groups that claimed responsibility for seizing the soldier, Gilad Shalit, last June and bringing him to the Gaza Strip, said a week ago the release demands were conveyed to Israel via Egyptian mediators.
Hundreds of Palestinians gathered outside the Red Cross office in Gaza City to call for the release of their relatives held in the Israeli jails. This big gathering came ahead of the annual Prisoners Day today. Haniyeh who joined the gathering denied news reports said that Barghouthi was excluded from the list of the prisoners.
Barghouthi, a legislator from the occupied West Bank, was convicted in 2004 of murder by an Israeli court over the killing of four Israelis and a Greek Orthodox monk in attacks by Palestinian militants. He is serving five life sentences. “Every country has spoken about Shalit ... but who knows the names of 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, who mentions them, who mentions the suffering of their people,” Haniyeh asked at the protest gathering.
“Why such a double standard policy even when talking about a humanitarian issue,” he said. Freedom for prisoners in Israeli jails — especially those serving long sentences — is a highly emotive issue for Palestinians.
A Hamas Cabinet minister said last week there were about 1,400 names on the list of prisoners presented to Israel. Since Fatah was beaten in Palestinian elections last year by Hamas, there has been recurrent speculation — stoked by statements from some Israeli officials — that Barghouthi could win clemency in a bid by Israel to foster a new peace partner.
But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, asked in a recent newspaper interview whether Barghouthi should expect an early release as part of a prisoner exchange, responded: “No.” In a new statement, Hamas urged militant groups to seek the abduction of more Israeli soldiers so they could be swapped for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Abd Naser Ferwan, head of statistic department in the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners Affairs told Arab News that the number of prisoners in the Israeli jails is 10,400 including 330 children and 166 women.
