Posted on 08/15/2002 2:19:37 AM PDT by eclectic
The indictment in Tel Aviv District Court Wednesday of Marwan Barghouti, head of the West Bank Fatah organization, portrays a terrorist pyramid. This is topped by Barghouti, followed by a second-in-command who relayed his orders to field commanders responsible for implementing them, and, beneath them, the terrorists in the field who actually carried them out.
Barghouti was indicted on charges including premeditated murder, accessory to murder, incitement to murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and participation and membership in a terrorist organization.
Before the hearing began, Barghouti shouted to the journalists crowding around him in Hebrew and then English: "Only peace will achieve security for both nations, the end of the occupation. The Israeli people are paying a heavy price for the policy of their government. You know, everybody in the world knows, that Marwan Barghouti is fighting for peace. I am a peace man. I was trying to do everything for the peace between the two peoples."
The indictment included an appendix containing a list of 37 operations that were carried out or attempted by terrorists under Barghouti's command that claimed the lives of 26 Israelis. Most of these operations were shooting attacks, but in the last few months, before Barghouti's apprehension, they included a large number of attempted suicide bombings, all of which failed.
According to the indictment, Barghouti was head of the Fatah, the Tanzim and Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, all of which have been declared terrorist organizations by Israel.
Barghouti "led, ran, and set into operation terrorist actions against the state of Israel by conspiring with senior officials in the field who were responsible for their implementation. These actions were conducted in accordance with policy determined by the leadership of the terrorist organizations, and Barghouti was involved with carrying out this policy."
The indictment named some of the field commanders including Ahmed Barghouti, Nasser Awis, Nasser Abu Hamid, Ra'ad Carmi, Mahend Diriyeh, Muhammad Massalah, Manzour Shrim, and Mahmoud Titi. Ahmed Barghouti was allegedly Marwan Barghouti's right-hand man and served as the liaison between his boss and the field commanders, as well as being a field commander in his own right.
According to the indictment, Marwan Barghouti was aware of the actions of the field commanders and the field activists and was always informed and updated about their activities. For example, he knew in advance about the shooting and knifing attack on the Seafood Market in Tel Aviv on March 3, 2002, in which two patrons and a policeman were killed.
Barghouti was allegedly directly involved in enlisting activists for the organizations, persuading them to take part in terrorist operations and providing the logistics for their operations. He was also involved in the financing, arming, and training of the field activists.
Marwan Barghouti's name does not appear as directly involved in any one of the list of 37 terrorist attacks appended to the indictment. However, according to the prosecutor, Devora Chen, "We thought that, in this specific case, it would not be right to submit an indictment regarding only those incidents in which he was directly involved, because even if the murderous act was carried out by his subordinates in accordance with his instructions and the policies he implemented, he is responsible for it."
As for the evidence against Barghouti, Chen said: "He links himself to some of the attacks. [Otherwise,] we are talking about underlings who incriminated him, the things he said during his interrogation, documents we seized in his offices and those of other senior officials in the terrorist organizations, and expert opinion."
Barghouti's lawyer, Jawad Boulus, said he would base his defense on the fact that "we do not recognize the right of the [Israeli] court to try Marwan."
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres was quoted by his office as saying about the case that "Israel is a democracy with an independent judicial system that will try Barghouthi on the severe charges against him."
Some people just have a "one-track" mind. However this does allow the individual to remain focused on the job at hand.
I guess it all depends on what your definition of peace, is.
My mistake, get the information he has, then shoot him. One bullet is cheaper than buying a rope.
A rope can be used over and over,,, a bullet only once. Decisions ,,,,,, Decisions !
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