By demanding the release of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti in return for IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, Hamas has succeeded in creating turmoil among the Fatah top brass in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Some Fatah leaders are not only concerned that such a move would boost Hamas’s popularity on the street and even among Fatah cadres, but that Barghouti, once free, would pose a threat to their position.
Barghouti, a prominent representative of the Fatah’s “young guard,” was once regarded by Yasser Arafat and his veteran colleagues as a troublemaker.

Some of Barghouti’s associates are convinced that his arrest by the IDF was part of a plot by Arafat’s closest allies. They argue that Arafat wanted to get rid of Barghouti because of his rising popularity and his recurring criticism of corruption and mismanagement.

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