Barghouti may believe in a two state solution, but his rhetoric doesn't match his record. To my knowledge, he failed to condemn a single Hamas action against the civilian population of his prospective negotiating partner, for instance. His beliefs notwithstanding, the count of his contributions to a two-state solution remain at zero.
And, as a measure of Barghouti's failure to deliver, here is an excerpt from the 2016 follow-up included in the article you linked to, from an interview with the former PA minister and Barghouti's close associate Fadurah Fares:
- You have consistently failed to conduct a nonviolent struggle, and instead were tempted into suicide attacks.
Fares: “Okay. It will require a few months of training and preparation. But I can reveal to you that all the people I have spoken with in the top ranks of Hamas agree to the idea of an intensive, nonviolent mass protest.”
It appears I have read the article in fuller detail than you may have wished for. Fifteen years after the original story, and Barghouti's closest associates are still looking forward to a few more months of training to conduct a non-violent struggle... makes me wonder how Hamas, who, despite Barghouti's resounding expectations, have yet to join his call for non-violence, is doing on this front. And, as a consequence, the resounding answer to the provocative question posed in the article is, hell no, he will not! At least not in the foreseeable future, which, I must admit, may be a pretty short period of time by local standards of the region.
But once again, I digress. Barghouti is a side issue to my argument and, as I have pointed out a number of times, has no material bearing on it. If you refuse to address the essence of my argument and keep deflecting to Barghouti, ending this conversation is something I can wholeheartedly agree with.
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