Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti will become the Palestinians' next leader, Israel's Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer was quoted as saying on Tuesday. In an interview with Haaretz newspaper, Ben-Eliezer said that he believed that "there is no reason to become alarmed" by the possibility that Barghouti will be freed from the Israeli prison system, where he is serving five consecutive life sentences for "terrorist" activities.
"I would consider releasing him. I think it's a legitimate move, though I believe that his actions were sinister, and I don't take them lightly at all," Israel's ex-Defense Minister, stated. Barghouti has been in prison since April 2002.
According to Ben-Eliezer, over the past months he had realized Barghouti is probably the best partner Israel has with whom it can hope to achieve a breakthrough in negotiations with the Palestinians. "We have to find a suitable opportunity to release Barghouti, and we have to link it to the release of Gilad Shalit," the Israeli minister said.
