The Palestinian prime minister has confirmed that Marwan Barghouthi, a prominent Fatah leader, is on a list of prisoners the Palestinians want freed in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier.
Ismail Haniya's comments came after Azzam al-Ahmad, the Fatah deputy prime minister, said the popular West Bank leader was left off the list. "I can confirm to you that the list [of prisoners] included the name of Marwan al-Barghouthi," Haniya said during a weekly protest by families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
About 1,400 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails are reportedly on the list to be considered in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was captured by Palestinian fighters last June.
"Every country has spoken about Shalit ... but who knows the names of 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, who mentions them, who mentions the suffering of their people," Haniya asked the protesters on Monday.
"Let us respect all religions, civilizations and people that were originated from the Middle East,....and let's drive for respectable, long lasting and fair solution." "Why such a double-standard policy even when talking about a humanitarian issue."
Several thousand Palestinians gathered outside the Red Cross office in Gaza City for the rally, many holding photographs of relatives held by Israel.
Meanwhile, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) has urged Palestinian resistance factions to double their efforts to capture more Israeli soldiers so as to swap them with Palestinian captives in Israeli jails.
The PRC furthermore called on the PA government to attach any future truce with the Israeli occupation government to unconditional and comprehensive release of Palestinian captives from Israeli jails.
In a statement it issued and cited by PIC, the PRC also invited the Palestinian people to go on massive demonstrations Tuesday to commemorate the day and show solidarity with the prisoners and their families. “We should consider the Palestinian prisoner’s day on the 17th of April every year as a national and popular day”, the PRC highlighted in the statement, urging the PA unity government to care for families of the prisoners and to provide them with honorable life."
