An Israeli minister raised the prospect Sunday that the jailed leader of the Palestinian uprising, Marwan Barghuti, could be released from the Israeli jail after he topped Fatah party primaries to run in legislative elections. "In politics, you should never say never," Transport Minister Meir Sheetrit said when asked about the chances of Barghuti being freed.
Barghuti is currently serving five life sentences after being condemned by an Israeli court last year over his role in leading attacks, which killed several Israelis.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, however, said that Israel would never release Barghuti from prison. "We must not forget that he is a cold-blooded murderer who was sentenced by the court to five life sentences," he said.
On his part, Israeli President Moshe Katsav told Army Radio on Sunday morning that he would not consider a political clemency request for Barghuti. Katsav added that he does not envision a situation in which he would consider a political clemency request based on Barghutii’s Ramallah district election victory.
