Folks:
I raised this scenario in an earlier thread. It appears that Marwan Barghouti will stand as a candidate for the Palestinian Presidency.
It it well know that he is considered the most electable candidate of the names put forward. He is enormously popular among the youth, the working class and the militants. Given the poverty among Palestinians which was given wide media coverage recently, it appears that they will identify more with Mr. Barghouti than say Mr. Abbas.
Having said that,
1. Should Mr. Barghouti be elected on January 9th, it would be create the dilemma of an elected Palestinian leader sitting in an Israeli prison. Israel has stated that they won't release him, but the European Union is likely to lean heavily on Israel to release Mr. Barghouti and so will many Arab nations. What about the United States?
2. Since Mr. Bush's re-election, he has stated that he is truly committed to working towards the creation of a Palestinian state. Do you think Mr. Bush will use his "political capital" to pressure the Israelis to release Mr. Barghouti (if elected) so that he could carry out his duties as elected leader?
3. Finally, and very importantly, do you think Mr. Barghouti has the ability to rein in the militants and get them under control?
Your thoughts?
Regards.
I raised this scenario in an earlier thread. It appears that Marwan Barghouti will stand as a candidate for the Palestinian Presidency.
It it well know that he is considered the most electable candidate of the names put forward. He is enormously popular among the youth, the working class and the militants. Given the poverty among Palestinians which was given wide media coverage recently, it appears that they will identify more with Mr. Barghouti than say Mr. Abbas.
Having said that,
1. Should Mr. Barghouti be elected on January 9th, it would be create the dilemma of an elected Palestinian leader sitting in an Israeli prison. Israel has stated that they won't release him, but the European Union is likely to lean heavily on Israel to release Mr. Barghouti and so will many Arab nations. What about the United States?
2. Since Mr. Bush's re-election, he has stated that he is truly committed to working towards the creation of a Palestinian state. Do you think Mr. Bush will use his "political capital" to pressure the Israelis to release Mr. Barghouti (if elected) so that he could carry out his duties as elected leader?
3. Finally, and very importantly, do you think Mr. Barghouti has the ability to rein in the militants and get them under control?
Your thoughts?
Regards.
