JERUSALEM'Israeli special forces arrested Marwan Barghouti, the leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction and the man Israel holds responsible for dozens of deadly attacks on Israelis, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday.
Barghouti is the highest-ranking Fatah official arrested during Israel's 18-day military assault on Palestinian towns and villages. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has said the campaign is meant to crush Palestinian militias, praised Barghouti's arrest and said he will be put on trial.
But West Bank security chief Jibril Rajoub warned that \killing or humiliating (Barghouti) will bring catastrophes for Israel and will expand the circle of violence.""
The pudgy, diminutive Barghouti is one of the few Palestinian leaders who enjoys a mass following among young Palestinians. Long after he became one of Israel's most wanted men, Barghouti remained a familiar figure at the front of Palestinian funeral marches and public rallies. He traveled with bodyguards but said he feared neither capture nor assassination by Israeli forces. He was viewed among Palestinians as an incorruptible figure.
Israel accuses Barghouti, once regarded as a pragmatist who strongly supported the Oslo peace accords, of leading the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militia linked to Fatah. Founded by Arafat, Fatah is the most powerful Palestinian political movement.
Barghouti denies that he is a militia leader but repeatedly has praised attacks on Israelis, saying they are necessary to compel Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the dismantling of Jewish settlements in those areas.
Right-wing Israeli lawmaker Michael Kleiner called for Barghouti to be brought speedily to trial before a military court, where, Kleiner said, he hoped Barghouti would receive the death sentence.
But Yossi Beilin, the dovish former justice minister, said any prolonged detention of Barghouti, an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, ""might push the conflict into a darker alley.""
Palestinian activist and legislator Hussam Khader, a leader of militants in the West Bank city of Nablus who worked closely with Barghouti, said his arrest is ""a painful blow in the soft belly of the intifada."" Khader warned that putting Barghouti on trial in Israel ""will have dangerous repercussions.""
Barghouti, he said, ""has a lot of power on the ground and is one of the best-equipped people to bring back the trust of the Palestinian people in peace and to bring back Palestinians to the negotiating table in the future.""
Barghouti, 41, sometimes has clashed with Arafat but was also often at the Palestinian Authority president's side.
Israeli security sources said Barghouti was captured in the home of another Fatah activist, Ziad Ain, who also was arrested, along with Barghouti's nephew and aide, Ahmed Barghouti. Marwan Barghouti reportedly was taken to Jerusalem, where he was said to be under interrogation by the General Security Service, or Shin Bet.
