"The day of my freedom will come when the Palestinian people is freed from the occupation," said Barghuti

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, May 20 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - An Israeli court Thursday, May 20, convicted Palestinian lawmaker Marwan Barghuti of several counts of "murder".

Barghuti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and also Secretary of the Fatah Movement in the West Bank , challenged the legitimacy of the court and vowed continued resistance to a long-standing Israeli occupation.

He had been charged with 26 counts of "murder" and heading Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Fatah that has carried out several attacks against Israeli occupation forces.

The Israeli prosecution recommended that Barghuti receive five life sentences for murder and another 40 years for attempted murder when he appears for sentencing on June 6, the day of his 45th birthday, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Barghuti and his lawyers have consistently rejected the Tel Aviv district court's jurisdiction and accused Israel of seeking to put the entire Palestinian Intifada on trial.

But reluctant to hand Israel a psychological victory with his indictment, a defiant Barghuti urged the Palestinian people not to lose sight of their struggle for independence.

"So long as the occupation continues, the Intifada will not stop," he told the prosecution in Hebrew.

"As far as I am concerned, my future is not important, even if I die in prison. The day of my freedom will come when the Palestinian people are freed from the occupation," said Barghuti.

Israeli Arab MP Mohammed Barakeh, from the Hadash party, greeted Barghuti as the stepped into the courtroom.

"Marwan, those who judge you today will end up negotiating with you. You will not stay in prison as long as Nelson Mandela," he told a smiling Barghuti, who raised his cuffed hands in the air with the victory sign.

Barghuti's last appearance in court came in September 2003 when he once again made clear he did not recognize the court's authority and warned the only way to end the Intifada was the establishment of two states for the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

Not Involved

The prosecution claimed Barghuti was directly responsible for a June 2001 drive-by shooting which killed Georgios Tsibouktzakis, a Greek Orthodox monk from a monastery in the West Bank .

It also convicted him over the killing of an Israeli near Ramallah in January 2002 and the killing of three Israelis during an attack on a Tel Aviv restaurant in March the same year.

Barghuti has always denied the accusations and accused the court of politicizing his trial.

"I'm no more involved in these attacks than you are," Barghuti told Sara Sirota, who headed the panel of judges.

"One day they will be ashamed of the accusations they are leveling against me," he said.

Barghuti’s lawyer, Jawad Boulos, had earlier said he expected his client to be found guilty.

"We do not expect any other verdict."

Shamai Leibowitz, another lawyer, said the sentence to be given on June 6 would not appealed, no matter what it is.

"Our stand throughout the whole trial is that we do not recognize the jurisdiction of this court, therefore it doesn't make any sense to appeal a sentence, whatever it is," he told AFP.

Illegitimate   

The Israeli government said it was satisfied with the outcome of the trial, claiming that it had every right to place the Palestinian legislator on trial.

The Palestinian Authority denounced the verdict and said that it did not recognize the court's authority.

"This court is illegitimate and this verdict is an act of escalation", said Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's chief advisor, Nabil Abu Rudeina.

"We are demanding the immediate release of Barghuti as he is an elected member of parliament," he added.

"What the Israelis have said about him is only aimed at continuing the escalation and incitement".

Barghuti was abducted by special Israeli forces near the town of Ramallah in April 2002.

Two Palestinian rights groups, after visiting Barghuti, said he was being tortured and ill-treated by the Israeli security services.

The trial came a few hours after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israel for killing Palestinian civilians and demolishing their houses in the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Rafah.