Word: barghouti
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Barghouti does withdraw, it will be primarily because he heeded the call of the militants warning him that his candidacy was tactically ill-advised. They see this as the wrong time to force the Palestinian electorate to make a fundamental strategic choice between the intifadah and Abbas's diplomacy. Instead, in the best traditions of Arafat, they want both tendencies, and everything in between, represented under the banner of a single candidate around whom they can circle the wagons...
...Having filed his candidacy papers citing pressure from supporters to stand and "protect the intifadah," Barghouti has to date given no indication that he'll heed such calls - and such is the resentment against what Abbas represents both among the Fatah grassroots and more widely among the Palestinian electorate that he may fancy his chances of prevailing. The latest polling data from the respected Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research finds Barghouti in a statistical dead heat with Abbas among likely voters, with 13 percent still undecided...
...While established democracies operate on the principle that dividing the electorate over the direction of a nation is an essential part of the political process, national liberation movements tend to prize unity above all else. And that tradition may yet compel Barghouti to back down. (In doing so, of course, he would not only demonstrate his dedication to the greater good, but also put down a marker for his own claims to succeed the aging Abbas within a few years.) Still, by declaring his candidacy in the first place, Barghouti has exposed the massive fissures at the heart of Palestinian...
...Even if Barghouti had followed the lead of the local al-Aksa brigade commanders and simply backed Abbas, their support in itself creates restraints on the ability of Abbas, or any other elected leader, to cut deals oppose by the Fatah base. (Some Palestinian observers believe Barghouti may have decided to enter the race after Abbas failed to meet the political price for his support - putting prisoner releases at the top of the negotiating agenda - while others have suggested his decision reflects a fear of being eclipsed by rivals among his own "intifadah" generation.) Some of those restraints...
...Barghouti, of course, is the public face of the intifadah, a popular West Bank Fatah Secretary General who cut his political teeth in the streets of Ramallah and the prison cells of Israel during first intidafah (1987-1991) while Abbas and the rest of Arafat's inner circle plied the diplomatic circuit from their headquarters in far-off Tunisia. The fact of his imprisonment by Israel after being convicted of terrorism - he didn't bother to defend himself, dismissing not only the charges but the court's right to try him - has done nothing to diminish his allure...