Trial Begins for West Bank Leader of Arafat's Fatah Faction
Handcuffed and unshaven, Palestinian faction leader Marwan Barghouthi told an Israeli court Thursday he did not recognize its authority to try him on charges of masterminding deadly attacks on Israeli citizens.

Israel is hoping the trial will show Palestinian leadership complicity in attacks during a two-year-old uprising for independence.

The trial of Barghouthi, head of President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in the West Bank, is the first of a major player during the revolt.

``I don't recognize this court. This is a court of the occupation,'' said Barghouthi, who was captured by Israel in the West Bank in April.

Barghouthi, 43, told the packed courtroom he was a ``freedom fighter.'' A relative of an Israeli killed in an attack shouted back: ``You are a murderer! You are a terrorist!''

Israeli media reported that several Israelis were wounded near the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza when a tank rolled over an explosive device and was engulfed in flames.

A caller who said he was from the Popular Resistance Committee, militants from different Palestinian factions, told Reuters by telephone the group was responsible for the attack.

The Israeli military sources said a Palestinian militant opened fire at a school near the Jewish settlement of Nisanit in Gaza, wounding at least two Israelis.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group linked to Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the shooting. They named the gunman as Mahmoud Seyam, who died in the attack.

Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, an aide to Arafat, said: ``We have never said that we do not want to negotiate with Israel...We have always preferred peaceful solutions but self-defense against tanks, soldiers and settlers is a legitimate resistance.''

Barghouthi's popularity has soared during the uprising and the trial exposure could ultimately cement his chances of replacing Arafat and leading Palestinians.

But if he is found guilty of murder he could face a life sentence.

``You have no right to put me on trial, the state of Israel should be on trial,'' he said, rejecting representation by either a state-appointed or a Palestinian lawyer as a mark of protest.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/international/international-mideast.html