Fatah Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison, remains confident. He continues to tell reporters that he will soon be a free man; certain he is among the terrorists who will gain their freedom in an upcoming prisoner exchange deal to bring Gilad Shalit home. He continues to tell reporters that he will soon be a free man; certain he is among the terrorists who will gain their freedom in an upcoming prisoner exchange deal to bring Gilad Shalit home. He was permitted to conduct an interview with CNN via his attorney.

He told CNN that Israel imprisons over 10,000 prisoners, some already having served over 32 years of their lives behind bars.

Exhibiting an unchanged viewpoint, Barghouti accuses Israel of maintaining an embargo on innocent Gaza residents, being an occupying force, arresting hundreds monthly and continuing to expropriate Arabs lands for its own purposes while increasing illegal settlements.

He justified the right of all Palestinians to resist the occupation, pointing out the United Nations and the International Court of Justice in The Hague have ruled settlements are illegal. He stated that his political views have not changed as a result of his imprisonment, stating he supports the ‘two-state solution’, to live side-by-side with Israel. He added that this can only be accomplished by “bringing an end to the occupation” and therefore, Israel must withdraw to the pre-June 1967 Six Day War boundaries.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)