Jailed Palestinian icon sweeps votes in Fatah polls

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Jailed Palestinian resistance icon Marwan Barghouti won most votes in Fatah movement’s main decision-making body, preliminary results showed Sunday.

The vote was held Saturday to elect 18 members of the 21-seat committee on the sidelines of Fatah’s seventh general congress.

The results showed that 12 committee’s members were re-elected, including Barghouti, who has long been considered an icon of resistance to the Israeli occupation.

Barghouti played leading roles in both the first and second Palestinian Intifadas ("uprisings") in 1987 and 2000, respectively.

In 2002, Barghouti was arrested by Israel and slapped with five consecutive life sentences for his alleged involvement in a number of attacks on Israelis.

Saturday’s polls also saw the election of six new members to the central committee.

According to the results, only three candidates from the blockaded Gaza Strip were elected to committee.

More than 1,400 Fatah members attended the five-day congress, which is set to conclude on Sunday in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Reporting by Qais Abu Samra; Writing by Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg;