Marwan Barghouthi
Kobar / Ramallah, Palestine
(1959- )
Born on 6 June 1959 in
Kobar, near Ramallah; joined Fateh at the age of 15; among the founders of
the Shabiba (Fateh Youth) in the West Bank in the mid-1970s; from 1978,
spent 4˝ years in Israeli prisons after being charged with membership in
then “banned” Fateh; studied at Birzeit University from 1983; head of
shabiba while president of the student council at Birzeit University in
the early 1980s; graduated (BA) in history and political science in 1994;
was arrested in Sept. 1985, placed under admin. detention for six months
and deported by Israel in May 1987 to Jordan; played a role in organizing
various political aspects of the first Intifada from his Amman exile;
became elected member of the Fateh Revolutionary Council in Aug. 1989;
acted as liaison officer between the outside PLO and inside Fateh;
independent member of the PLO Central Council; allowed to return to the
West Bank in April 1994; initial supporter of the Oslo process; became
Sec.-Gen. of the Fateh Higher Committee in the West Bank; won a Ramallah
seat as an independent in the Jan. 1996 elections; continued his studies
at Birzeit, receiving an MA in international relations in 1998; critical
of centralization of power under Arafat; submitted motion of no-confidence
in the executive in the PLC in May 1997 budgetary misuse affair; became
increasingly critical of Oslo, especially in face of Israel’s ongoing
settlement policy; led massive demonstrations refocusing national
attention on the basic objective of ending the occupation; has become the
major local leader in the second Intifada (since Sept. 2000), organizing
resistance in the belief that peace cannot be achieved with occupation;
survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Aug. 2001; was arrested by
the Israeli army in Ramallah on 15 April 2002 and is illegally detained
since then; on 6 June 2004 sentenced to five successive life imprisonments
plus 40 years for being involved with Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades; following
the passing away of Pres. Yasser Arafat, decided to run as a candidate in
the PA elections, challenging an earlier Fateh agreement to nominate
former PM Mahmoud Abbas as Fateh representative (a move that was denounced
by the Fateh Central Committee but welcomed among certain Fateh youth
members), but withdrew his candidacy on 12 Dec. 2004.
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Added: May 2006