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| Prisoner in Israel Is Linked to Talks | Prisoner in Israel Is Linked to Talks |
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| RAMALLAH, West Bank — He is the single most popular Palestinian politician, and he is serving five consecutive life sentences plus 40 years in an Israeli prison for crimes including murder. He is an ardent supporter of both the two-state solution and what Palestinians call the resistance against Israeli occupation. He is considered the top contender to become the next Palestinian president, and perhaps the only figure who can reunite the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. | RAMALLAH, West Bank — He is the single most popular Palestinian politician, and he is serving five consecutive life sentences plus 40 years in an Israeli prison for crimes including murder. He is an ardent supporter of both the two-state solution and what Palestinians call the resistance against Israeli occupation. He is considered the top contender to become the next Palestinian president, and perhaps the only figure who can reunite the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. |
| Marwan Barghouti, 54, has long been viewed by many Palestinians and their supporters as a self-sacrificing charismatic figure able to command a revolution from behind bars. Now, as Palestinian leaders renew demands for his freedom as part of a deal to save Middle East peace talks from collapse, he has become the Palestinian parallel to Jonathan J. Pollard, the American convicted of spying for Israel whose potential release is also on the negotiating table. | Marwan Barghouti, 54, has long been viewed by many Palestinians and their supporters as a self-sacrificing charismatic figure able to command a revolution from behind bars. Now, as Palestinian leaders renew demands for his freedom as part of a deal to save Middle East peace talks from collapse, he has become the Palestinian parallel to Jonathan J. Pollard, the American convicted of spying for Israel whose potential release is also on the negotiating table. |
| “Why not?” asked Ihab Taweel, who owns a supermarket in the East Jerusalem neighborhood Kufr Aqab. “Pollard is very important to Israel, and Barghouti is important to us.” | “Why not?” asked Ihab Taweel, who owns a supermarket in the East Jerusalem neighborhood Kufr Aqab. “Pollard is very important to Israel, and Barghouti is important to us.” |
| Both sides bristle at the comparison. Israelis see Mr. Barghouti as a murderous terrorist, and Mr. Pollard as having hurt few by spying for what is, Israelis like to emphasize, a close ally. Palestinians view Mr. Barghouti as a heroic political prisoner, and Mr. Pollard as someone who betrayed the country of his birth. | Both sides bristle at the comparison. Israelis see Mr. Barghouti as a murderous terrorist, and Mr. Pollard as having hurt few by spying for what is, Israelis like to emphasize, a close ally. Palestinians view Mr. Barghouti as a heroic political prisoner, and Mr. Pollard as someone who betrayed the country of his birth. |
| But they have similar symbolic significance on the respective streets, each having become a rallying cry, a humanitarian cause, a ubiquitous face adorning protest placards. And now they are both compelling chits in the hands of negotiators seeking the right recipe of sweeteners to keep the sides talking. | But they have similar symbolic significance on the respective streets, each having become a rallying cry, a humanitarian cause, a ubiquitous face adorning protest placards. And now they are both compelling chits in the hands of negotiators seeking the right recipe of sweeteners to keep the sides talking. |
| “Marwan should be back home,” Mohammed Shtayyeh, a senior Palestinian official, said Monday at a news conference here as the 12th anniversary of Mr. Barghouti’s last arrest — Palestinians say abduction — as the architect of the violent second intifada approaches next week. | “Marwan should be back home,” Mohammed Shtayyeh, a senior Palestinian official, said Monday at a news conference here as the 12th anniversary of Mr. Barghouti’s last arrest — Palestinians say abduction — as the architect of the violent second intifada approaches next week. |
| Seated next to Mr. Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, and in front of a blown-up photograph of Mr. Barghouti wearing a wry smile along with his prison khakis, handcuffed wrists over his head, Mr. Shtayyeh said simply, “He represents the people.” | Seated next to Mr. Barghouti’s wife, Fadwa, and in front of a blown-up photograph of Mr. Barghouti wearing a wry smile along with his prison khakis, handcuffed wrists over his head, Mr. Shtayyeh said simply, “He represents the people.” |
| Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declined to discuss whether Israel was seriously contemplating Mr. Barghouti’s case before the two parties met on Monday night, for the second consecutive day, with the special envoy for the Obama administration, Martin Indyk. | |
| But a senior Palestinian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do otherwise, said it would be difficult for Palestinians to resist a deal extending the negotiations past their current April 29 expiration date if they included Mr. Barghouti. His name has been part of every communication with Washington since the talks started last summer, the official said, and is brought up in every diplomatic encounter Palestinians have with other countries. | But a senior Palestinian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do otherwise, said it would be difficult for Palestinians to resist a deal extending the negotiations past their current April 29 expiration date if they included Mr. Barghouti. His name has been part of every communication with Washington since the talks started last summer, the official said, and is brought up in every diplomatic encounter Palestinians have with other countries. |
| Mr. Barghouti, meanwhile, sits in Hadarim Prison, where he has a roommate and a television with 10 channels. He can read any newspaper published in Israel but cannot have a computer. His wife sees him every other Tuesday for 45 minutes, through glass; the last time they touched was in 2006, she said, when she was sent to persuade him not to run against President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. | Mr. Barghouti, meanwhile, sits in Hadarim Prison, where he has a roommate and a television with 10 channels. He can read any newspaper published in Israel but cannot have a computer. His wife sees him every other Tuesday for 45 minutes, through glass; the last time they touched was in 2006, she said, when she was sent to persuade him not to run against President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. |
| Last month, Ms. Barghouti said, she brought their only grandchild, Talia, who was born last summer, but the baby was barred at the last door before the visiting room because she is not a first-degree relative. The couple trade letters through his lawyer. | Last month, Ms. Barghouti said, she brought their only grandchild, Talia, who was born last summer, but the baby was barred at the last door before the visiting room because she is not a first-degree relative. The couple trade letters through his lawyer. |
| “There is always a chaperone on our feelings and emotion,” said Ms. Barghouti, a lawyer who runs a nonprofit group that advocates his release. | “There is always a chaperone on our feelings and emotion,” said Ms. Barghouti, a lawyer who runs a nonprofit group that advocates his release. |
| Universally referred to as Marwan, Mr. Barghouti joined Fatah, Mr. Abbas’s faction, at age 15. He was arrested a few years later because the organization was outlawed by Israel, and he has spent nearly half his life imprisoned or in exile. | Universally referred to as Marwan, Mr. Barghouti joined Fatah, Mr. Abbas’s faction, at age 15. He was arrested a few years later because the organization was outlawed by Israel, and he has spent nearly half his life imprisoned or in exile. |
| From jail, Mr. Barghouti earned his high school diploma and wrote three books, including one about his 1,000 days in solitary confinement. From jail, he was re-elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006. | From jail, Mr. Barghouti earned his high school diploma and wrote three books, including one about his 1,000 days in solitary confinement. From jail, he was re-elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006. |
| For more than a year now, polls by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research have shown that Mr. Barghouti would handily beat Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Fatah’s rival Hamas, in a presidential election, by much wider margins than Mr. Abbas would, and that Mr. Barghouti would come out on top of a hypothetical three-way race. | For more than a year now, polls by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research have shown that Mr. Barghouti would handily beat Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Fatah’s rival Hamas, in a presidential election, by much wider margins than Mr. Abbas would, and that Mr. Barghouti would come out on top of a hypothetical three-way race. |
| With Mr. Abbas having just turned 79, some Palestinian analysts see his focus on Mr. Barghouti in recent weeks as handpicking a successor, particularly given his recent public squabbling with another Fatah figure, Muhammad Dahlan, a former Gaza strongman and Fatah security chief. Others say it is simply a salve. | With Mr. Abbas having just turned 79, some Palestinian analysts see his focus on Mr. Barghouti in recent weeks as handpicking a successor, particularly given his recent public squabbling with another Fatah figure, Muhammad Dahlan, a former Gaza strongman and Fatah security chief. Others say it is simply a salve. |
| “It’s a good negotiating position,” said Khalil Shikaki, the survey center director. And Mr. Abbas would “certainly need Marwan to stand with him,” Mr. Shikaki said, in support of any future peace deal with Israel. | “It’s a good negotiating position,” said Khalil Shikaki, the survey center director. And Mr. Abbas would “certainly need Marwan to stand with him,” Mr. Shikaki said, in support of any future peace deal with Israel. |
| Mr. Barghouti, who received his sentence on his 45th birthday, refused to participate in his defense, contending that as a resident of occupied territory he should not have been tried in an Israeli criminal court. Originally indicted on a charge of perpetrating 37 attacks by running terrorist organizations, recruiting and training militants, he was convicted of premeditated murder in three attacks that killed five people, along with conspiracy and other crimes. | Mr. Barghouti, who received his sentence on his 45th birthday, refused to participate in his defense, contending that as a resident of occupied territory he should not have been tried in an Israeli criminal court. Originally indicted on a charge of perpetrating 37 attacks by running terrorist organizations, recruiting and training militants, he was convicted of premeditated murder in three attacks that killed five people, along with conspiracy and other crimes. |
| He has continued to issue political statements, supporting Mr. Abbas’s bids for statehood at the United Nations, criticizing the Palestinian Authority’s security coordination with Israel, and calling for a third intifada, or uprising, and a boycott of Israeli goods. | He has continued to issue political statements, supporting Mr. Abbas’s bids for statehood at the United Nations, criticizing the Palestinian Authority’s security coordination with Israel, and calling for a third intifada, or uprising, and a boycott of Israeli goods. |
| “We want a leader who challenges Israel,” said Mr. Taweel, the supermarket owner. “If Israel says no, he says no. If Israel says yes, he says yes. The only leader who can say yes and no without harming the Palestinian national interest is Marwan Barghouti.” | “We want a leader who challenges Israel,” said Mr. Taweel, the supermarket owner. “If Israel says no, he says no. If Israel says yes, he says yes. The only leader who can say yes and no without harming the Palestinian national interest is Marwan Barghouti.” |