MIDDLE EAST: Uprising leader Marwan Barghouthi has decided to run for Palestinian president from his Israeli jail cell, an official of his Fatah faction said yesterday.
The candidacy could throw the January 9th election wide open and pose a dramatic challenge to current front-runner Mr Mahmoud Abbas, a former prime minister now caught in the glare of the charismatic Mr Barghouthi's popular appeal with Palestinians.
Mr Barghouthi's attempt to succeed the late Yasser Arafat as president could also bring international pressure on Israel to free the West Bank Fatah leader it jailed in June for five life terms over the killings of Israelis by militants.
"He has decided to run for president," the official, who said he had spoken with Mr Barghouthi's lawyer, said.
"An official announcement will be made within 24 hours."
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Mr Ahmed Ghnem said later yesterday Mr Barghouthi (45) cannot run for president on the Fatah faction's ticket but would have to run as an independent.
Mr Barghouthi's lawyer, Khader Shqeirat, declined to comment.
Despite the uncertainty over Mr Barghouti's plans, Fatah's Revolutionary Council gave expected approval for the candidacy of Mr Abbas (69), three days after a Fatah panel nominated him in a race that has also drawn several lesser-known figures.
Mr Abbas, who took over the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organisation after Arafat's death on November 11th, lacks Mr Barghouthi's strong popular power base, but he is favoured as a future peacemaker by Israel and the United States.
Mr Barghouthi was the main voice of a revolt for an independent Palestinian state after peace negotiations collapsed in 2000 and has long been seen as a potential successor to Arafat.
Palestinian political analysts predicted Mr Barghouthi stood a good chance of winning the ballot, drawing support from mainstream voters, as well as from Islamists who oppose Mr Abbas's call to end the uprising.
At his trial in Tel Aviv, Mr Barghouthi said he was a political leader with no involvement in violence.
Passionate and articulate, the bearded and diminutive Mr Barghouthi has also advocated peace with Israel, making his case for an end to occupation in the West Bank and Gaza in near-perfect Hebrew learned during previous jail stints.
Asked whether Israel might release Mr Barghouthi if he was elected, a senior Israeli government source said: "That would not change Mr Barghouthi's status as it is today."
US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell addressed the prospect of Mr Barghouthi's candidacy in an Israeli television interview during a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Monday, calling the issue complex.
"I am not sure what he is planning to do, but I think we will just have to wait and see. He is now in legal custody of the state of Israel, and that situation is not something that appears to be about to change," Mr Powell added.