Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Elder of ZiyonA secretly filmed videotape, released by the Prison Services Wednesday, shows Tanzim head Marwan Barghouti breaking the hunger strike
Many cases of strike breaking have been reported on the fourth day of the Palestinian security prisoner hunger strike, including imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and other strike leaders, who have been put together in separate cells.
The Prison Services released a film Wednesday filmed by a hidden camera that shows a man, apparently Barghouti, eating in his cell with the door and window covered by a cloth.
Marwan Barghouti, the highest ranking Palestinian in Israeli custody, is serving five consecutive life terms after being convicted of involvement in fatal attacks.
Barghouti, the West Bank leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, was one of the organizers of the hunger strike.
The black and white film carries a date of Aug. 17 in the lower right corner. It shows a bare-chested man who looks exactly like Barghouti washing his hands and then eating.
Prison Services spokesman Ofer Lefler said Barghouti asked wardens for the food and ate without knowing that a camera was filming from a small hole in the wall. Israel wanted to show fasting prisoners how their leader was behaving, Lefler said.
'I want to show the world and the Palestinians that we are dealing with terrorists,' Lefler said. 'Barghouti is sitting on a pot of meat and he sends his friends to die.'"
