LISTEN TO BARGHOUTI

Ha`aretz. ^ | 4/21/02 | Gideon Levy

[LarryLied]

It's a good thing Israel did not kill Marwan Barghouti; but it's a shame that it arrested him. Following dozens of assassinations, the Israel Defense Forces suddenly proved that when it wants to arrest someone instead of assassinating him, it knows how to do it quite well. If Israel had only adopted the same approach with Fatah activist Dr. Thabet Thabet, or the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Abu Ali Mustafa, plus a long list of other targeted Palestinians, the intifada's flames would be a lot lower and a lot of blood would have been spared on both sides.

Regrettably, however, Israel did not take the wiser course of action and allow the Tanzim leader to remain in hiding, the way it has done with some of the other leaders of the Palestinian security services whom, Israel says, have been involved in terror attacks. Arresting Barghouti may have been just, but it is not wise. Now he'll become the Palestinian Nelson Mandela.

Now that Barghouti is under arrest, Israel must put him on trial in a civilian court, as befits a political leader suspected of serious crimes. As for the difference between civilian courts and military ones, it has already been said that it's about the same as the difference between a philharmonic orchestra and a military band - the same instruments, but with different results.

Barghouti has a much greater chance of getting a fair trial - to which, like any suspect, he is entitled - in a civilian court in Jerusalem than in the military tribunals of Beit El. The court hearings should be open to the public, so that the representatives of the Shin Bet security service and the State Prosecution are required to display the evidence against the man to the entire world. And do we still need to point out that Barghouti should not be tortured, as happened the last time he was arrested? Humiliating him will also fan the fames of rage in the Palestinian and Arab street.

Of no less importance is to listen to the accused. Not only could the Shin Bet learn quite a bit from him, all Israelis should take heed as well. Look at Barghouti and you'll understand the entire story. The path he took was the only one we showed the Palestinians - a path on which we tripped and pushed them deeper and deeper into despair and ultimately to violence.

Barghouti may be responsible for ruthless terror attacks, but Israel is likely to long for leaders like him, because his heirs will be much, much worse. Full of vengeance and hate, they will not be partners to a compromise like he would be. "You think tomorrow they'll find someone more moderate than me, someone to make [Chief of Staff Shaul] Mofaz coffee in the morning?" he quipped to me a few months ago when he feared he was on Israel's death list.

Barghouti did not begin by killing. As a politician, who apparently turned into a terrorist, it cannot be said of him that he did not try the path of negotiations. He was a peace activist. Few Palestinians were as active as he in promoting peace. He was deeply involved in contacts with many Israelis - and not only ones from the left - and never hid his admiration for certain elements of Israeli life. "I wake up in the morning and look West, not East," he once told me. In those days, he marched in peace demonstrations, his arms locked with those of Meretz lawmakers Dedi Zucker and Zahava Gal-On.

That image may be surreal now, just like the days when he used to take his children to the Safari animal park in Ramat Gan. He would visit the political parties' central committees and MKs, making friends with some of them on joint delegations overseas, never missing a meeting and believing all the time in the purpose of the dialogue. "When will you finally understand that nothing frightens the Palestinians the way the settlements do?" he asked me on Land Day in 1997, while we drove around burning tires in his little car.

A few months ago, while already in hiding, he still called himself "the Palestinian peace camp." An alumnus of Israeli prisons, Barghouti is practically the last vestige of those Palestinians who knew Israelis well and even admired some of their characteristics. "I tell myself how patient we were," he said recently. "I was ready to meet with Shas and the Likud - with everyone. To talk. To persuade. But the Israelis don't want to understand." Now, the beloved has become an enemy. "I know how I've changed," he admits.

More than anything else - and he should be believed on this - he wanted an end to the occupation, not the killing of Israelis and the destruction of their state. But the path grew longer and longer, until, as far as he was concerned, it was never-ending. As in any criminal case, pay attention to the motive for the crime: Barghouti's motive was politically justified, even if his actions cannot be. The politician became the leader of a violent organization that chose terror. At first, he limited his organization to actions only inside the occupied territories, apparently escalating its efforts until he eventually sent suicide bombers to Tel Aviv. "Why should you feel safe in Tel Aviv when we don't feel secure in Ramallah?" he asked.

The image of Barghouti shackled by Israeli soldiers is also a picture that goes back terribly far in time. The former prisoner and deportee, who became a leader and a legitimate partner for dialogue, is once again in irons. Israeli tanks are in the casbahs, soldiers are in the refugee camps, the Ketziot Prison has reopened, and Barghouti is under arrest once again. The long path Israelis and Palestinians walked together seems to have vanished, as if it had never existed at all. When Barghouti is released again from prison, he'll be even more extreme. Maybe by then, there will be nobody to talk with.

"This is our gift for Independence Day," one IDF officer so arrogantly defined his arrest. No gift could be more depressing.

[veronica]

You seem impervious to the truth. Therefore useless to debate.

[mcsparkie]

"Why should you remain alive in Tel Aviv when we don't feel warm and fuzzy in Ramallah?"

[dennisw]

He was one of the leaders who disagreed with Arafat and pushed for a settlment with Israel, one of the more reasonable voices among the Palestinians.

Who then went on to ordering many murders of Jews. I love you leftists that romanticize the scumbag killers of the 3rd world. If they are 3rd world they must be "authentic", eh?

[eclectic]

Like saying over and over that Arabs use textbooks to teach their children to hate Israel

Truth bears repeating. Your lies and distortions don't!

[Diogenesis]

Marwan Barghouthi is a terrorist who murdered scores of Israelis.

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File photos of the perp.

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In Ramallah, Fadwa Barghouti is the wife of the terrorist Barghouti.

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[bybybill]

I`m confused.Is the Palestinian Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps that is going to destroy Israel?

[mcsparkie]

one of the leaders who disagreed with Arafat

ain't no such thing alive

[dennisw]

Mein Kampf in East Jerusalem
and the Palestinian Authority

---

An Arabic translation of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf is being distributed by Al-Shurouq, a Ramallah based book distributor, to East Jerusalem and territories controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA). According to Agence France Presse (Sept. 8), the book, previously banned by Israel, has been allowed by the PA and is 6th on the Palestinian best-seller list. Bisan publishers in Lebanon first published this edition in 1963 and again in 1995. The book costs about $10. The cover shows a picture of Hitler, a swastika, and the title in both German and Arabic. The translator, Luis Al-Haj, wrote the following introduction:

"Hitler the soldier left behind not only a legend stained by tragedy itself; the tragedy of a state whose dreams were shattered, a regime whose pillars were torn down, and a political party that was crushed. Hitler was a man of ideology who bequeathed an ideological heritage whose decay is inconceivable. This ideological heritage includes politics, society, science, culture, and war as science and culture."

"The National Socialism that Hitler preached for and whose characteristics were presented in his book My Struggle, and whose principles he explained in his speeches before he took power, as well as during the 13 years he spent at the head of the German nation - this National Socialism did not die with the death of its herald. Rather, its seeds multiplied under each star."

"We cannot really understand the efforts of this man without examining the principles enclosed in his book My Struggle that the Nazis turned into the "Gospel of National Socialism."

"This translation of the book My Struggle has never been presented to Arab speakers. It is taken from the original text of the author, Adolf Hitler. The text was untouched by the censor. We made a point to deliver Hitler's opinions and theories on nationalism, regimes, and ethnicity without any changes because they are not yet outmoded and because we, in the Arab world, still proceed haphazardly in all three fields."

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Source: The Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization providing translations of the Arab media and original analysis and research on developments in the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available upon request

 

[mcsparkie]

I`m confused.Is the Palestinian Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps that is going to destroy Israel?

The palestinian Peace Corps.

[veronica]

There was always suffering in his face.

Are you serious, a satirist, or a disruptor?

[Diogenesis]

Murderers are thugs. Barghouti and Arafat are murderers.

They should receive justice.

And what is the PA's best idea?
The Palestinians are upset that Barghouti's plan to
sell Arafats sputum to the EU and UN as a "drink"
probably is going nowhere even though the EU and the UN can't get enough of Arafat spittle.

[veronica]

I have, as others on the thread have, posted facts about Barghouti's murder of innocent Israelis. If those facts are so easily dismissed by you, then you have a problem. BTW. You are a newbie. Been here before?

[Diogenesis]

Up until the Israelis retaliated the Palestinians fought a one sided terrorist campaign.
Now that the Israelis fight back, the Palestinians are whiners.

[veronica]

How amusing. You deny certain facts, then, when proven wrong, you do a switcheroo and change the subject. :) First you say Barghouti is no killer, and Mein Kampf is not being bought by Palestinians. When proven wrong on both points you play the Sabra-Shatilla card. When of course Arabs killed Arabs in that event.

[dennisw]

Sharon had nothing to do with the killings at Sabra and Chatilla.The
person who ordered the killings, was Elie Hobeika, not Ariel Sharon.

After the 82 War, Hobeika switched sides to the Syrians. It was then
learned by Hobeika's bodyguard, Roger Hatem, Elie Hobeika was a Syrian
agent in the 82 War. He ordered the killings at Sabra and Chatilla to
make Israel look bad, so Syria could control Lebanon. The only reason
why the Christians went along with Hobeika's orders, to kill the people
in Sabra and Chatilla, was to avenge the thousands of Christians, who
were killed by the PLO in Damour Lebanon. Click on the link to learn,
about the massacre the PLO did in Damour Lebanon in 1976.
http://www.censerve.co.za/articles/realarafat.htm

2nd, in 1985, the
Syrian backed Amals Shiites, attacked the same Sabra
camp and killed 650 Arabs. Ofcourse when Arabs kill each other, no one
cares. Here's an article that shows 100 percent, that Sharon had
nothing to do with Sabra and Chatilla. An LFP Exclusive (Lebanese
Foundation for Peace) Direct Submission The Truth Behind Source: Roger
Hatem, a former Lebanese intelligence officer, and the former Bodyguard
of Elie Hobeika, is willing to testify at a trial of Elie Hobeika, if
it takes place at an international court. Perceived as the driving
force in the murders at Sabra and Chatilla, General "Arik" Sharon has
been condemned and discarded by accepted history.

No matter that he is
now the leader of the Likud party in Israel, no matter that he is the
hero of many campaigns that preserved Israel in the face of
overwhelming odds, history's perception destroys his viability as
deserving of the highest office of the land. The truth is that the
massacre did indeed happen; however, the perpetrator's were neither
Israeli nor Lebanese rioters as reported. The entire operation was
masterminded by Syrian intelligence, as reported by a number of
witnesses, and was carried out ruthlessly and efficiently by a Lebanese
stooge of Syria named Elie Hobeika. The most comprehensive source of
published information is by the body guard of Hobeika: Robert Hatem
nicknamed Cobra. Hatem wrote a diary of events leading up to and past
the massacres that is available on the internet at:
http://www.israeltodamascus.com/

The book is banned in Lebanon, and
many of the participants are still active in Lebanese politics. Hatem
is a political refugee hiding in France. Hatem writes that Hobeika
spoke of two thousand Palestinian terrorists hiding in the Palestinian
refugee camps, the Israelis had asked Hobeika to rid the camps of the
terrorists, and the Israeli forces expected them to supervise the
Palestinian evacuation from the camps. Their specific orders were to
sort out the armed terrorists and hand them over to the Israelis.


Hobeika was under strict orders by Sharon to act as a dignified, armed
force and not resort to any unnecessary violence. Hobeika, a known
Syrian agent, ignored Sharon's orders and gave his own command: "total
extermination, camps to be wiped out." When Hobeika spoke to Sharon,
Sharon was infuriated and condemned Hobeika for murder, and wanton
killings. Hatem reports that"All the victims were civilians killed with
grenades, hatchets, assault rifles, and knives. Some of the corpses
were even boobie- trapped." "General Sharon ordered his men to fire
flares from that moment on until 400 a.m. to avoid further killings but
it was too late. The harm was done." 


One witness, a Lebanese dissident,
is easy to dismiss as a malcontent, irrelevant and without credibility,
yet after all these years we now find substantiating evidence, credible
evidence, and directly from the Palestinians and others. The Voice of
Palestine (Official Palestinian Radio Station), September 15,2000,
reported that Brigadier General Sultan Abu-al- Aynayn, official in
charge of the Fatah Movement in Lebanon, deplored the non-trial and non-
questioning of Hobeika for the innocent blood that was spilled in the
two refugee camps. 


Another source is Agence France Presse whose article
"Massacre of Palestinians at refugee camps remembered," was reported in
the Jordan Times September 17,00. The story included the
following"BEIRUT (AFP) Palestinians and Lebanese commemorated the 18th
anniversary on Saturday of the massacre of 1,500 Palestinians at the
Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut. Relatives of the victims
point an accusing finger at Elie Hobeika, now an outgoing pro-Syrian
member of parliament who was then the intelligence chief for the
Lebanese forces. Hobeika denies all responsibility for the massacre."
In spite of overwhelming evidence that Sharon was not in any way
responsible for the massacre, indeed, the present Syrian controlled
Lebanese government is at fault, the controlled Lebanese press persists
in its fable of faulting Sharon, as they are well aware, that if
charges of guilt are leveled at Hobeika, it would infuriate Syria for
Hobeika is "protected," well known as Syria's protegé, and any charges
against Hobeika would implicate Syria. 

Additionally, a number of
Lebanese papers manipulated by Syrian intelligence have ignored the
entire event and all the sordid events leading up to the killings.
There is a direct, power struggle between PLO and Syrian proxies on the
ground, involving control of Lebanese territory and control over the
ruling elite in Lebanon. Lebanese intelligence sources report of the
massacres -- "that to distract the world from focusing on the murder of
the President then elect Bachir Gemayel, a plot was devised to blame
Israel." The intelligence sources add that Habib Chartouni (freed by
the Syrians from jail during the 1990 invasion of the Presidential
Palace in Baabda) a member of the Syrian National Socialist Party (an
instrument of the Syrian Secret Service in Lebanon) under the direction
of Nabil El-Alam (senior intelligence officer in the SNSP) carried out
the assassination with the help of Hobeika who operated from within the
Lebanese Forces.

Nabil El-Alam is believed to be living today in Libya
working as an intelligence advisor of terrorism affairs for the
security apparatus of Qadhafi. Confirmed intelligence reports state
that Qadhafi during the Lebanese war financed the SNSP with millions of
dollars to launch terrorist attacks against Israeli targets world wide.
The late Inaam Raad, senior political SNSP member, was t he architect
of the SNSP Libyan relationship. With Syrian approval, Hobeika ordered
the massacres at Sabra and Chatilla, as Hobeika working undercover for
the Syrians used the Lebanese forces as an instrument to weaken the
Palestinian forces and use Israel as a scapegoat, clearing Syria from
any involvement.

The massacres were carried out by intelligence units
of the Lebanese Forces. These units were under the sole control of
Hobeika and belonged to the Security Service and not the General
Military Command (Military Wing). The General Command of the Lebanese
Forces had some 2500 soldiers in mechanized divisions waiting at the
Beirut International Airport, advancing to West Beirut and linkup from
there with East Beirut and the Christian controlled areas. Sharon,
angered that Hobeika had tarnished Israel's image worldwide by
implicating him in the massacres, took steps to prevent additional
carnage. Sharon ordered on the 16th and 17th of September 1982 that the
Lebanese Forces that were waiting at the Beirut airport could not enter
West Beirut as he feared even more murders. The Lebanese Forces were
ordered by the Israeli Military command to return to their barracks in
East Beirut through the Druze town of Choueifat and the Christian town
of Hadath, in the Beirut suburbs. They did not enter West Beirut. 


There
are dozens of witnesses, former Lebanese Forces officers willing to
testify to the matter. To hide the details of this Palestinian
massacre, the information presented to the world was that the Christian
Lebanese Forces backed by General Sharon orchestrated the massacres.
That is incorrect. It was years too late that the Lebanese Forces
discovered that Hobeika was working as a double agent from within the
Lebanese Forces for Syria's interest, and his Security Service agency
actions were manipulated by Syria intelligence, and Hobeika
fingerprints was behind every car explosion and assassination from East
Beirut to West Beirut. From the foiled car bomb attempt on former
Lebanese president, Camille Chamoun, in Dora, to the faulty car bomb
attempt on the Christian Lebanese Front in Awkar, to the assassination
attempt by car bomb on Sunni leader Moustafa Saad in Saida, to the
attempt on Druze leader Walid Jumblatt's life in Beirut, to the
assassination attempt on Hezbollah's spiritual leader Muhammad Hussein
Fadlallah in Beirut, and many others. 


This detailed information is
provided by classified sources in the Lebanese Forces Intelligence
Department. With Hobeika carrying out the dirty work, Syria was
dismantling the fabric of Lebanese Society to better control it.
Hobeika and his lieutenants alone are responsible for all these deaths.
He masterminded it, orchestrated it and executed it, under secret
Syrian orders and blamed it on Israel. This was not the first nor the
last massacre the Syrians ordered in Lebanon. In 1985 the Syrians
ordered the Shiite Amal Militia, under the control of the present
Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berry, to lay siege to the
Palestinian camps in Beirut for months, inflicting hundreds of
casualties. 

A few years later, Syria's proxy's, the SNSP militia in
Bohsas in northern Lebanon, and the Lebanese Baath units of Ali Eid,
backed by the Syrian Special Forces, easily defeated Arafat's PLO in
Tripoli, Northern Lebanon, and hundreds of PLO members were slaughtered
and shot on the walls of the city. Arafat and his men were saved and by
boats returned to Tunis. This was not done to assist Israel. The sole
objective of Syria was to throughly take control of all of Lebanon, and
the Sabra and Chatilla massacres were only a chapter in a long history
of Syrian massacres. Finally, Syria rewarded all the leaders of the
massacres by elevating their status from militia leaders to that of
deputy or minister in later Lebanese governments. Their political
approach was always to use the Palestinians masses in Lebanon as a
force to pressure Israel in every peace negotiation. Also remember, at
this time, Assad just killed 22,000 of his own people in Hama Syria


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[MissAmericanPie]

Bull feathers.