CAIRO: Marwan Barghouti, a member of Fatah's Tanzim armed-wing who is currently serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison, has criticized Hamas leaders for failing to consult other Palestinian political parties before finalizing the recent Israeli-Hamas prisoner swap. Neither Barghouti himself or the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Ahmad Saadat, who are both serving jail time in Israeli prisons, were consulted about the deal before it was finalized. The immediate release of these two figures was a central point in previous Hamas negotiations for a prisoner swap. “We were not told by anyone if we will be released or not released. They did not get our green light for the deal,” Bargouti said, adding, “Even the prisoners who are to be deported did know about it until the decision was taken.” Instead, the two learned of the deal through the media. Some believe that the unilateral Hamas move was out of line. Fatah claims that the deal was insufficient, as 5,000 Palestinian prisoners still remain in Israeli prisons, including high-profile figures such as Barghouti and Saadat. “It's a mixture of joy and a missed opportunity,” said Kadura Fares, a PLO official and director of the Palestinian Prisoners Society. Hamas rejected the criticism, saying that Fatah would never have taken home such a deal. “Fatah and the Palestinian Authority cannot criticize the deal. Some time ago Abu Mazen offered to free Shalit in exchange for the removal of the Gaza blockade, without setting free even one prisoner,” Mahmoud al-Zahar, a top Hamas official, said to the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat. “Of course, we rejected that idea,” he went on. A senior Egyptian official involved in mediating the deal commented on the exclusion of Barghouti and Saadat from the deal. He said that Israel did not rule out Barghouti's release in the future, when the international situation may be “suitable for such a move.” But giving up PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat seems to be a tougher case for Israel. The senior official stated that Israel seemed adamant about releasing Saadat, who has been on a hunger strike for 19 days. Saadat's detention and strike has been a focal point of the collective hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, which began on September 27. BM
