Bitter Circus Erupts as Israel Indicts a Top Fatah Figure
Waving his handcuffed hands in his first appearance since his capture on April 15, Mr. Barghouti shouted in Hebrew (a language he learned during his previous incarcerations in Israeli prisons), "I have charges against the Israeli government!"

As television cameras and radio microphones recorded the proceedings, he continued, "I have a charge sheet with 50 clauses against Israel for the bloodshed of both people!"

Mr. Barghouti was twice pulled out of the Tel Aviv courtroom by guards in attempts to stop his speeches before the session finally ended with the announcement that the next hearing in his case would be Sept. 5.

But Arab members of the Israeli Parliament who were in the courtroom picked up his theme.

"This will be a trial of the Israeli occupation and oppression," said one of them, Ahmed Tibi.

The Israeli prosecutor made equally clear that Israel intends to use the trial to substantiate its claim that the entire Palestinian leadership of Yasir Arafat, in which Mr. Barghouti played a prominent role, is nothing more than a band of terrorists and murderers.

Israel's basic case is that Mr. Barghouti, as the West Bank leader of Fatah, Mr. Arafat's core political movement, was responsible for terror attacks carried out by Fatah's secretive and deadly Aksa Martyrs Brigades. The charge sheet, which she did not read out in court, specifically cites 37 attacks in which 26 people were killed and scores wounded.

"The accused, a Ramallah resident, heads the West Bank terror organization," the indictment declared. "The accused was subordinate to Yasir Arafat, who heads the terrorist organization."

What the indictment did not note was that Mr. Barghouti, 42, is also the second most popular figure among the Palestinians, after Mr. Arafat, and a man often cited as a potential successor to Mr. Arafat. Charismatic and canny, he is of a generation of Palestinian leaders who came to prominence in the uprisings of the late 1980's, and so are perceived as a homegrown and uncorrupted alternative to the expatriates who arrived with Mr. Arafat after the Oslo agreements of 1993.

Mr. Barghouti was first arrested and deported by the Israelis at the age of 16, but he returned to become president of the student body at Birzeit University, a hotbed of Palestinian nationalism in the West Bank.

That led to another deportation, from which he returned in 1993 to be elected to the new Palestinian Legislative Council set up under the Oslo agreements. In the council, he was an enthusiastic advocate of peace with Israel — and an occasional critic of Mr. Arafat and his lieutenants.

The latest chapter in Mr. Barghouti's career came with the most recent uprising, during which he became increasingly militant. The Israelis argue that Mr. Barghouti led Fatah to adopt ever more violent tactics, and finally to send suicide bombers into Israel — a tactic until then limited to Islamic militants. Mr. Barghouti has denied operational control over the suicide bombings, though he has not condemned them.

…In his shouted comments in the courtroom — in Hebrew, English and Arabic — Mr. Barghouti played heavily on that notion.

"Marwan Barghouti is fighting for peace," he declared. "Peace will be achieved by the end of the occupation. No peace, no security, with the occupation. The Israeli people are paying a heavy price for your government's actions. I believe the best solution for the two peoples is two states."

Mr. Barghouti's lawyers said they would argue that Israel had no right to try him, since he was seized on Palestinian territory and is a member of the Legislative Council. At the same time, Khader Shkirat, a member of the defense team, said the defense would use the proceedings to show "the entire Palestinian suffering."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/15/international/middleeast/15MIDE.html