Jailed Fatah leader calls for healing Palestinian rift

By Qays Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti has called for healing the rift between rival groups Fatah and Hamas.

“It is necessary to call for a national conference for a comprehensive dialogue with the participation of all powers, parties, women, youth, and Palestinians inside [Israel],” Fadwa Barghouti quoted her jailed husband as saying.

The remarks came in a Wednesday conference organized by Masarat Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

Barghouti, a Fatah leader, called for “partnership” in all Palestinian institutions, including the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and for holding general elections.

Fatah and Hamas, two major Palestinian groups, have been at odds since 2007 when the latter seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.

Ever all efforts aimed at healing the rift between the two movements have been fruitless.

Barghouti has spent more than 15 years behind bars since being arrested by Israel in 2002 during the second Palestinian Intifada ("uprising") when he took part in armed resistance activities against the Israeli occupation.

While Israel views Barghouti as a security threat, opinion polls have consistently shown him to be the most popular choice among Palestinians to succeed Fatah leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.