Barghouti, Marwan

(1959- )

   Leader of the Fatah-Tanzim and major organizer of the Al-Aksa intifada. Born in Ramallah, Bargh-outi became active in Fatah as a teenager. Arrested for his participation in anti-Israel demonstrations in 1976, he learned to speak fluent Hebrew during his incarceration. His status among the Palestinians rose significantly with his role as a major organizer of the Al-Aksa intifada in the fall of 2001. Barghouti was arrested on 15 April 2002 and on 20 May 2004 was convicted by an Israeli civilian court on five counts of murder, one of the victims being a Greek Orthodox monk. He was also found guilty of attempted murder relating to a failed suicide car bomb attack. On 6 June 2004, Barghouti was sentenced to 5 consecutive life sentences for the 5 murders and 40 years imprisonment for the attempted murder. Barghouti was one of the principal authors of the "Prisoner's Agreement" (officially known as the "National Reconciliation Document") written in June 2006 by representatives of various Palestinian factions incarcerated in Israeli prisons.

   See also Arab-Israeli Conflict.