Palestine Paz Ahora Marwan Barghouti elections voting Al Fata , Hamas , Al Fatah

Full transcript of Lindsey Hilsum's exclusive interview with Marwan Barghouti for Channel 4 News.
Published: 23 Jan 2006

Marwan Barghouti: The Israelis succeed to arrest my body, but not my head, not my soul. They will not succeed to do that. They will not broke break our will for independence and for freedom. I was in solitary confinement during most of the time. I didn't see anybody, I didn't receive my children or my wife or anybody.

You are the first journalist, you and the others who I see. This is the first day in my life in the prison during four years that I met anybody.

I think Hamas is part of the Palestinian people and they have the right to participate, and personally I was trying all the years and in the last year to convince them and pressure them to participate in elections.

So I welcome this historical decision from Hamas, because what is the meaning of their decision to participate in the election? It means they belive in democracy, they are ready to work according to the rules of the democracy and this is very important.

Lindsey Hilsum: So is it the end of armed struggle, the time for using guns and bombs has gone?

MB: The Palestininan people, and it should be very clear, have got the full right to resist against the Israeli military operations in the occupied territories in any way.

Do you think they will leave Gaza without the intifada, without resistance? They will not. They stayed there 38 years. Why they get out from Gaza? And I think this is a big achievement for the intifada.

But Palestinians should give any chance for any efforts, international efforts, regional efforts and we will do that.

Believe me, the Israelis consider everybody against occupation is a terrorist. It's not true.

I don't think the Israelis are suitable and qualified to describe the people, and the last in the world who can talk about the terror I think are the Israelis."

LH: But they had specific proof. They took you to court, they had particular people who they said were murdered. They showed your involvement, the documents which showed you paying people who carried out suicide bombings.

MB: Absolutely no. And I didn't deal with the Israeli court. I don't recognise the right of Israel to sentence a Palestinian leader, a Palestinian member of Parliament.

The Israelis didn't respect democracy. They know very well I'm not leading military attacks here and there. That's right. I'm very clear that I support the Palestinian intifada and Palestinian resistence.

I'm talking with you in jail, I'm not on the outside. And I still say that.

LH: So what is your view now on suicide bombings, which are continuing, there was a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv the other day?

MB:We are against this.

LH Yes but what is your opinion of Palestinians who do, do that?

MB:I think the Israelis didn't help the Palestinians with their internal discussion to reach to the point about that. More than any time the Palestinians were very close to taking a decision on that. But Israelis in the intifada killed 800 Palestinian children.

LH: Does that justify Palestinians killing Israeli children?

MB: No. In any case no-one can justify killing civilians - children, women, anywhere in this world. They should be outside of the game. It should be very clear. In Palestine or in Israel.

We need two leaders who are ready to take decisions, critical decisions, to take risk and to decide from the Israeli side and the Palestinian side.

And I think that my people is ready for peace with the Israeli people. We should build according to the categories of democracy which are well known in the world. We should build a democratic state and I think the Palestinian people are very well qualified to do that."

LH: But they're making a mess in Gaza. Look at Gaza, people are shooting each other, kidnapping visitors, it's chaos.

MB: I think it's a big crime to kidnap any journalist or foreigner. I sent a message through the media and to people I know there and I hope they will not repeat that.

MB: [On women in the struggle] Because they take a big role in the struggle against occupation and so I hope that we will see in the future woman as a Prime Minister in Palestine."

LH: Do you think that you will spend the rest of your life in prison? Five life sentences..."

MB: No. Absolutely. I will be free with all these prisoners in the jail. Israelis cannot keep us all 10 thousands in Israeli jails. And finally they will discover, you know what happened in South Africa? Finally they go to Mandela and they negotiate. And what happened in Ireland?

LH: In Ireland? They talked.

MB: They talked. Finally. And they released all the prisoners. The British government considered them terrorists. So I think we are freedom fighters. I see myself as a Palestian resident who will exercise his right in a Palestinian democratic state. This is my dream.