An imprisoned Fatah leader has been pledged a key role in the Palestinian leadership. Palestinian Authority officials said Marwan Barghouti, Fatah secretary-general in the West Bank, has been granted a role in the Palestinian leadership. They said PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas has decided that Barghouti would be involved in every strategic decision by the PA and PLO. "He will be one of the important pillars in the Palestinian regime, Fatah and the PLO and must be partner to every important decision on the strategic level," PA Minister of State Qaddura Fares said. "He can come to all the meetings by, er...videoconference. Or webcam." | Fares traveled to an Israeli prison in the southern city of Beersheba on Nov. 26 to relay Abbas's offer decision to Barghouti. Barghouti, 46, had been considering running for the post of PA chairman in the first significant challenge to Abbas. Elections have been scheduled for Jan. 9.
That got him out of the way, I guess. The question remains whether Mahmoud will actually be able to control the hard boyz... | |