\n
\nStruggle<\/strong><\/p>\n
Barghouti is viewed with considerable respect in Palestinian circles for his ongoing struggle against Israel\u2019s decades-long occupation and for his relatively moderate discourse when it comes to internal Palestinian affairs.<\/p>\n
Barghouti was born in 1958 in the village of Kobar, located northwest of the West Bank city of Ramallah.<\/p>\n
When he was 15 years old, he joined the Fatah movement of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Three years later, in 1976, he was arrested for the first time by the Israeli authorities.<\/p>\n
Following his release in 1983, he enrolled in Ramallah\u2019s Bir Zeit University where he headed the student council and graduated with degrees in history and political science.<\/p>\n
Barghouti later played a leading role in the first Palestinian Intifada (\u201cuprising\u201d) against the Israeli occupation (1987-1994), during which he took part in resistance activities in the West Bank.<\/p>\n
Israel arrested him — again — for his role in the uprising and deported him to Jordan, where he stayed seven years.<\/p>\n
In 1989, at Fatah\u2019s 5th General Conference in Tunis, Barghouti was elected to the movement\u2019s influential Revolutionary Council, becoming its youngest-ever member.<\/p>\n
In 1994, Barghouti returned to the West Bank following the signing of the Oslo peace agreement between Israel and the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).<\/p>\n
Two weeks after his return, at a meeting of the Fatah leadership, Barghouti was unanimously elected to lead the movement in the West Bank, which — despite the peace deal — remained under Israeli occupation.<\/p>\n
Two years later, he was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament), which was established in the wake of the Oslo peace process.<\/p>\n
Barghouti also played a prominent role in the Second Palestinian Intifada (also known as the \u201cAl-Aqsa Intifada\u201d), which erupted in 2000 after Israeli politician Ariel Sharon — accompanied by scores of police — forced his way into Jerusalem\u2019s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.<\/p>\n
When he was rearrested by Israeli authorities in 2002, Sharon — serving as Israeli prime minister at the time — said: \u201cI regret Barghouti was arrested alive; I would have preferred to see his ashes in a jar.”<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/buletinonline.net\/v7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/marwan.jpg\")
<\/a>Price of freedom<\/strong><\/p>\n