Jailed politician calls for resistance, an end to security coordination and the cutting of all ties with Israel

Media sources are reporting that jailed Fatah leader Marwan Al-Barghouti has called on the Palestinian leadership to end all forms of economic and security coordination with Israel. In a letter written from Israel’s Hadarim Prison, where he is serving a life sentence, Al-Barghouti said, “I call on the National Authority to stop all forms of economic and security coordination with the [Israeli] occupation, because the job of the Palestinian security services is to provide security and protection for the Palestinian citizens, not to protect the occupation.” He said that the Palestinian leadership should stick to its decision to seek the release of all detainees, recognition of the 1967 borders and the halt of settlement activities as conditions for the resumption of any political negotiations.

---

He also called for resistance and political/diplomatic efforts to be combined. “The illusion that the occupation can be ended through negotiations alone must stop,” he wrote. “Resistance and diplomacy must work together.” Moreover, Al-Barghouti said, the Palestinians must emphasise their absolute right in the fight against the occupation by all means, using the most appropriate form for each phase: “The popular resistance, at this stage, serves our people.”

The statement was issued by Al-Barghouti on the tenth anniversary of his arrest. Calling for a new wave of popular resistance, he said that “all ties with Israel should be cut”. This, he believes, will serve the Palestinian cause at this stage. “There should be a complete official and popular boycott of Israeli products and goods,” wrote Al-Barghouti. “The Authority should call for sanctions against Israel; a political, economic and diplomatic boycott to isolate the state completely.” Popular resistance and a rejection of all “normalisation” with the occupation should be promoted, he added.