Jerusalem Post

(18:45) Fatah leader: Violence will continue

The Americans need to understand that the intifada violence will continue until peace is obtained, said Marwan Barghouti, a senior Fatah leader in the West Bank.

Barghouti made his comments in the wake of a meeting in Ramallah this afternoon between Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Arafat was greeted warmly by Barghouti when the Palestinian leader returned yesterday to his Ramallah headquarters after an absence of five months.

There have been reports that Barghouti and Fatah militiamen are acting more and more independently of Arafat.

Barghouti has said that Fatah is an autonomous party, although it generally backs the PA. Fatah activists have shot and killed Israelis and have defied any attempts to implement the Sharm e-Sheikh understandings.

To read Lamia Lahoud’s story about Arafat’s efforts to reestablish his waning authority in the Palestinian territories, click here.

-- Anonymous, February 25, 2001