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Documents captured by Israel expose Arafat, chief terrorist
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Special to World Tribune.com
GEOSTRATEGY-DIRECT.COM
Thursday, May 2, 2002
In the mid-1990s, Marwan Barghouti was hailed as a Palestinian reformer
brave enough to challenge Yasser Arafat's corrupt regime. He was regarded as
the hope of Palestinian democracy.
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The architect of the suicide attacks was once called hope of Palestinian democracy
Marwan Barghouti
Age: 43
Position: head of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
Whereabouts: Israeli prison in Jerusalem
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Will the real Marwan Barghouti stand up? How does a man change within a
brief two years from promoting peace with Israel to being a mass murderer of
civilians?
Palestinian Authority documents captured by Israel and confirmed as
authentic by Barghouti paint the war horse as a bumbler rather than the
smooth combatant he has sought to portray. Barghouti cared little for
discipline and urged all Palestinians to bomb and kill Israeli civilians.
Simply put, those who were most successful received the grand sum of $100.
Arafat signed on every terrorist purchasing order.
Palestinian sources who know Barghouti said the Fatah secretary-general
was merely taking care of business. In the early- and mid-1990s, Barghouti
rode on a crest of popularity that challenged Arafat and stressed democracy.
It was during a time when Arafat's regime, based on his aides brought from
such places as Iraq, Tunisia and Yemen, was seen as utterly corrupt and
failing to provide basic services to the people.
During the current Palestinian war against Israel, Barghouti needed to
stress his combatant nature Ñ again to challenge Arafat's half-hearted
calls for ceasefire or peace talks.
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In a still photo released by the Israel Defense Forces taken from an IDF video, Marwan Barghouti, center, is captured by Israeli soldiers at an undisclosed location Monday April 15.
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The results were increasingly violent. Barghouti ordered Jewish motorists
killed
outside Jerusalem and instead the victim was a Greek Orthodox monk. By early
this year, Barghouti simply ordered his men to crash wedding and bar mitzvah
celebrations in Israel and mow down revelers. Later, Barghouti organized
women suicide bombers to blow themselves up in Israeli cities.
Israeli officials said the documents have already been relayed to the
CIA and Defense Department. They said the documents were also discussed
with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who held talks in Israel
this week. The documents will also be discussed during Israeli-U.S.
strategic talks later this month in Tel Aviv.
A PA security memorandum blamed Barghouti for the chaotic nature of the
war against Israel. The memorandum by the General Intelligence Agency said
Barghouti's methods have led to divisions within Al Aqsa.
"Marwan Barghouti had a significant role in their situation reaching
this level since he assured everybody who contacted him, that the
responsibility of the brigades in [the West Bank city of] Tulkarm will be
his if he works and proves that he worthy of it," a PA memorandum released
by Israel said. "The recent activities [of the insurgents] was conducted in
this trend."
In some cases, the documents assert, several different groups claimed
credit for operations to obtain
money from Arafat. In one document, Arafat was asked to approve $2,500 for
three leading terrorists in the West Bank.
"Among the armed squads there are many parasites and people with narrow
interests who suddenly appeared in their ranks," a Fatah document said.
"These people have become a financial onus on the organization since they
demand financial allocations, ammunition needs."
Barghouti embraced Iraq, Iran and
sources of funding required to pay the Fatah-led Al Aqsa Brigades. As
Barghouti saw it, the more terrorist attacks, the greater the funding. Here,
Barghouti's competition came from the Islamic insurgents from Hamas and
Islamic Jihad.
Barghouti was required to account for every penny given by Arafat.
Documents show that he detailed membership and weapons of various terrorist
cells. The combatants were divided into those who operated in
Palestinian-controlled territory and those who entered Israeli areas,
including Hadera, where a Fatah suicide-bomber killed six and injured 25 in
a Jan. 17 attack of a Bat Mitzva celebration.
"Most of them [Fatah combatants] have M-16 assault rifles, privately
owned by each, except for three rifles that the [Fatah militia] Tanzim took
part in their
purchase," the document said. "Additionally contributions were raised and
financial aid obtained from the honorable president [Arafat] to complete
their cost [purchasing expenses]."
The document said the suicide-bomb squad is the most effective and
disciplined. The memorandum said the squad is in "continuous coordination
and contact" with General Intelligence led by Col. Tawfiq Tirawi.
Another squad was said to be directly connected to Barghouti, who
appointed leaders of
terrorist cells. Yet, a third squad was composed of so-called
"undesirables," which conducted
several suicide attacks.
The documents disclosed the rivalries between Fatah squads. One
insurgent
in the Tulkarm area, identified as Abdul Wahad, was criticized for his
failure to maintain discipline among cell members. Others were said to have
obtained funding without sharing the money with fellow terrorists.
"It is important to note that the allocation of the financial resources
and ammunition is carried out unfairly," a PA security document said. "Some
of the arms bearers claim that 'Hafez' distributes
[money and ammunition] only to those who fire from Area A. On the other
hand, he neglects those who carry out high quality attacks [operations
inside Israel]. The chasm between 'Hafez' and some of those armed men [of
Fatah] has widened to the extent that they [insurgents] used to depart to
carry out operations without notifying Hafez about them in advance."
The Palestinian street has always served as the source of Barghouti's
career. He was a student leader in the 1970s and acquired his BA and MA at
Bir Zeit University. In 1978, Israel imprisoned Barghouti for six years. In
1987, on the eve of the Palestinian revolt, Barghouti was expelled to
Jordan.
Barghouti was embraced by Arafat and returned to the West Bank in 1994
as a member of the Fatah's Revolutionary Council and the PLO Central
Council. Arafat endorsed him as a member of the Palestinian Legislative
Council in 1996 elections.
At first, Barghouti chaffed under the imposition of Arafat's rule.
Suddenly, he was under pressure by PA security chiefs to disarm Fatah gunmen
and abide by the law. After several shootouts, Barghouti aligned himself
with PA Preventive Security Apparatus chief Jibril Rajoub and Fatah became
the only movement allowed to operate a militia. For money, Fatah extorted
Palestinian businessmen throughout the West Bank, particularly Christian
industrialists in Bethlehem and Ramallah.
The documents report that Arafat recruited Rajoub to ensure discipline
among terrorists. Rajoub, who continues to receive U.S. and European aid and
equipment, was said to have arranged for wealthy Palestinians to support the
families of suicide-bombers.
The PA memorandum to Tirawi urged a union of Palestinian insurgents and
the dismissal of ineffective terrorists. Tirawi was also urged to appoint a
sole coordinator to deal with all groups in the Tulkarm area.
"It is necessary to remove some of the parasites who mixed in with the
arms bearers and those who did not fire one projectile at Israelis, in order
to discard their financial burden and the problems which they cause," the
memorandum said.
The question is whether the Palestinian documents will seal Barghouti's
fate. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has declared that he wants
Barghouti on trial. But Israel, which does not have the death penalty, will
probably not seek to impose capital punishment on Barghouti. Indeed, it may
very well be that Barghouti, who condemned so many civilians to die, will be
freed in a prisoner exchange with the Palestinians and Hizbullah.
Geostrategy-Direct, www.geostrategy-direct.com, April 23, 2002
Copyright © 2002 East West Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
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