Jailed Hamas leader: 'If freed, I'll still fight Israel'

By ICEJ News

08 Mar 2010

When senior Hamas militia leader Abdullah Barghouti was brought to a Nazareth courtroom on Sunday for a hearing on the conditions of his imprisonment, he told reporters that if were ever set free in a prisoner exchange for abducted IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, he would return to attacking Israel. “If there is a deal, I would be set free along with Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Sa’adat… After my release, I will continue to fight for Palestine, so long as the occupation continues,” he insisted. Barghouti is currently serving 67 life sentences for murdering 66 Israelis and assisting in other murders. Israel has refused to free him as part of an exchange for Schalit, as demanded by Hamas. When asked about Schalit’s treatment by Hamas, he said, “As far as I know he is fine. He eats, he drinks, he sleeps. We don't harm our prisoners.”

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