The terrorist wore loafers
Sunday, April 21, 2002
ON A SUN-SPLASHED West Bank afternoon 13 months ago, a man now considered the mastermind behind the murders of scores of innocent Israelis offered this chilling prediction: "There will be more casualties," said Marwan Barghouti, who was arrested last week by Israeli soldiers.
Barghouti, the head of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement on the West Bank, was right. Hundreds of Israelis - and Palestinians - have died since that conversation in his apartment in the West Bank town of Ramallah. But now, something else is clear. Barghouti wasn't just declaring war - he was making a career move.
To see the Middle East quagmire only as a battle between Israelis and Palestinians - or Jews and Muslims - is to miss something. There is also a fight over who will lead Palestinians.
This struggle seems forgotten amid recent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. But the struggle is real nonetheless. Barghouti longs for that top spot among Palestinians. He is 42, college-educated, and casts himself as an Islamic version of Northern Ireland's well-tailored former terrorist, Gerry Adams. Barghouti wore Western clothes - jeans and loafers with no socks the day we met. No Arafat-style kofia head scarf or olive-drab military jacket. He speaks fluent English, Arabic, and Hebrew.
Like Adams, the former Belfast IRA brigade leader, Barghouti has mastered one of the most important skills in this media age - he's good on television. But unlike Adams, Barghouti continues to shamelessly support violence, even the immoral murders of civilians. "We will not replace any activity by others," he told me.
So why get arrested now? Will getting tossed in an Israeli prison - to face a possible trial for murder - hurt his political career? My theory: No way. Sadly, getting arrested elevates Barghouti's status among Palestinians. That's how sick things are.
This is an old political game. If you want to rise to the top in Palestinian politics, find a way to become Israel's enemy. That day in Ramallah, he candidly conceded he hopes to replace Arafat someday. But not long after he told me that, Barghouti ran into problems - not with the Israelis, but with fellow Palestinians. Barghouti wasn't grabbing headlines anymore. Other Palestinian leaders, with ties to the radical Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements, were.
What to do? It now appears that Barghouti turned to an old friend of any Palestinian seeking renown. He embraced violence. He was not shy about it either. It almost seemed as if he asked to be arrested.
Israeli military and intelligence officials accuse Barghouti of directly planning five specific attacks. These include the murder of six Israelis at a Bar Mitzvah celebration, the murders of two Jewish women in Jerusalem, and a triple murder in Tel Aviv. In addition, Israeli officials point to Barghouti as a key player in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which orchestrated several recent suicide bombings.
Finally, Israeli officials say they have found evidence proving that Arafat personally authorized funding for Barghouti's Al-Aqsa Brigade terrorists. "There's a clear pattern of payments," says Michael Widlanski, an Israeli security consultant who analyzed documents seized in Palestinian government office buildings.
What is significant is that five years ago Barghouti was viewed by some Israelis as a moderate. Other Palestinians, including Arafat, often spoke of destroying Israel. Not Barghouti. He talked of a peace deal, with open borders and increased economic cooperation between Israel and a Palestinian state. He was courted by Israeli politicians - especially the left wing - and was a frequent TV guest.
He also built a strong political base in Ramallah, within the Fatah movement, and later as a founder of the "Tanzim," a paramilitary security force.
Arafat seemed to fear Barghouti and did not reward him with a Cabinet post. Instead, Barghouti built his political strength on Ramallah's streets, gaining favor for his call to end corruption among Palestinian officials.
But he lost his grip. Israeli and Palestinian officials agree that in the last 18 months, as the Oslo Peace Accords frayed, moderate Palestinian voices calling for negotiation were replaced by those calling for violence. Suicide bombings and shootings increased against Israelis. It was only a matter of time before Barghouti joined in.
That day with me in Ramallah, he seemed resigned to the worsening terrorism. In the next room, a TV set blurted news of a suicide bombing. Barghouti got up, walked to the television, and watched in silence for a minute - then returned to our conversation.
"The only thing left from the peace process is the name," he said.
Looking back now, I think he was happy. |
