Qaraqi' told Arab News that Al-Barghouthi, the member of Fatah Central Committee, will discuss from his thesis before a special panel headed by an Egyptian professor and the membership of Palestinian professor Ali Al-Jarbawi, who is serving as Planning Minister in the Palestinian Authority.
Al-Barghouthi's 341-page thesis is titled “The Legislative and Political Performance of the Palestinian Legislative Council and its Contribution to the Democratic Process in Palestine from 1996 to 2008.”
Al-Barghouthi, who has headed every prisoner release list demanded by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas in negotiations with Israel, was sentenced in an Israeli court to five life sentences in 2004 for masterminding attacks that killed five Israelis and wounded many more.
He had been frequently mentioned in recent years as a possible alternative to Palestinian President Mahmoud in the future as polls have ranked him as the third most popular choice for leadership. He was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in absentia in 2006 and is seen by many Palestinians as a national hero and the most popular figure on the Palestinian street.
In 2006, Al-Barghouthi was involved in shaping what became known as "the Palestinian prisoners' document," which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders and for the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees. It was signed by prisoners representing of all major Palestinian factions, including Hamas.
Qaraqi' added that Al-Barghouthi was accepted by the University of Cairo and the Arab Academy for Research and Studies in the Egyptian capital back in 1999, three years before he was arrested by the Israeli army in Ramallah.
The minister said that Al-Barghouthi achieved victory over the Israeli occupation since he received his doctorate from an Arab university instead of the Open University of Israel.
He added that Al-Barghouthi was able to complete his thesis with the help of hundreds of books and documents that Israeli authorities allow Palestinian prisoners to bring into prison.
Al-Barghouthi completed his high school exams while in Israeli prison in 1980. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in history/ political science and in international relations, respectively, from Bir Zeit University, north of Ramallah. His master's thesis dealt with Palestinian-French relations from 1967 to 1997.
