During the opening of his trial, a leader of the Palestinian uprising told an Israeli court Thursday that it did not have the right to prosecute him because he is an elected political figure, not a criminal.
Marwan Barghouti, 43, said he is representing himself to underscore claims that the court does not have jurisdiction. "Marwan does not recognize the right of Israel to bring him to trial. We are not going to cooperate with this court," said attorney Jawad Boulus, who has represented Barghouti in the past.
"There's a mistake here. The one who should be sitting here (as a defendant) is the government of Israel," Barghouti told the three-judge panel in Hebrew. "You have no right to try me." Barghouti added he was a fighter for peace.
When Presiding Judge Sarah Zerota commented that "fighters for peace don't plant bombs," Barghouti responded: "I don't want to get into that."
Israel accuses Barghouti of having orchestrated "terror" attacks that killed scores of Israelis.
In the hallway outside the courtroom, there were scuffles and shouting matches between Jewish and Arab aupporters. Several relatives of victims of shooting and bombing attacks were in the courtroom.
Three of Barghouti's four children — Sharaf, 13; Arab, 12; and Ruba, 15 — were also present, and he waved at them as they called "Dad, Dad."
Barghouti has said he would use the proceedings to draw the world's attention to what he described as Israeli crimes against the Palestinians, committed during 35 years of military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
