Abbas’ success depends on his successor

[Jefferson23]

Convicted murderer Marwan Barghouti is the only Palestinian with the moral authority to achieve a two-state solution. If Israel releases him from prison now, it may just save the peace process.

By Matthew Kalman | Apr. 9, 2014

There is a silver lining to last week’s disastrous collapse of the U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians: we finally got a glimpse of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ exit strategy.

It’s smart. Israel should grab the opportunity with both hands.

Abbas said two things last week of enormous importance, and linked them with the future of the log-jammed peace talks.

First, he said that he could not, in his declining years, “betray” the Palestinians by signing the draft framework that is slowly emerging from the endless meetings hosted by the United States.

Second, he demanded the release of Marwan Barghouti from jail.

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/outside-edge/.premium-1.584855

[azurnoir]

1. More and IMO it's spot on

Enter Barghouti, the only Palestinian with the moral authority to sign such an agreement. Only he can persuade the Palestinians to make the ideological U-turn necessary to draw back from their current position of "pre-'67 lines or bust."

It won’t be easy for Israel to release him. He is serving five life terms after being convicted in a civilian court of involvement with at least five murders by Fatah thugs during the second intifada. There was overwhelming evidence that he provided money, weapons and logistical support to the killers.

But, as Yitzhak Rabin once said, you have to make peace with your enemies, not your friends.

Barghouti is a pragmatic believer in the two-state solution. Right now, he is the only Palestinian who can deliver it. He has already served 12 years in jail, so it's not as if he got away with murder.

[Jefferson23]

2. On this one, I have no idea what his odds are of getting released nor what conditions

they might try and apply.