Palestinian security forces assault family of jailed leader Marwan Barghouthi

Tuesday July 24, 2007 18:27 by Saed Bannoura - 1 of International Middle East Media Center - IMEMC Editorial Group

The daughter of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi was stopped by Palestinian Authority presidential guards on her way home from university, leading to a confrontation between the guards and Barghouthi’s family members.

Family of Marwan Barghouthi (photo taken before Barghouthi was imprisoned by Israel)

Marwan Barghouthi, the founder of the Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades (the armed wing of Fateh), has been held by Israeli forces in a detention camp since 2002. He is charged with killing Israelis, and was sentenced to several life sentences by an Israeli court, despite the fact that, under Israeli-signed international agreements, Israeli courts have no jurisdiction to try and convict Palestinians who are living under Israeli military occupation.

Barghouthi is also one of the main architects of the so-called ‘prisoner’s document’, a plan written last year calling for internal unity among Palestinian factions.

Barghouthi’s family has been harassed on numerous occasions by Israeli forces, but this is the first time a Palestinian security force has attacked the family.

According to local sources, Barghouthi’s daughter Ruba was returning home to Ramallah from university when she was stopped by presidential guards working for the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It is unknown why she was stopped, but the Palestinian Presidential Court has promised to investigate.

After stopping Miss Barghouthi, the guards searched her car, rifling through her personal belongings, despite her pleas for them to stop. Miss Barghouthi called her mother on her cell phone, and her uncle, brother and another male relative soon arrived on the scene.

Upon the arrival of the three relatives, the guards pointed their weapons at the men and threatened to shoot. They then assaulted Miss Barghouthi’s brother, Qassam. They beat him with rifle butts, and kicked him to the ground. Several other passers-by attempted to intervene to stop the beating, but were beaten back by the guards.

ramallah | palestinian attacks | news report saed at imemc dot org