Imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti who last week called on Palestinians to commence a popular uprising against Israel, has been placed in solitary confinement in Hadarim prison, and denied his rights to see visitors.

Barghouti, who also called on Palestinians to put an immediate stop to negotiations with Israel, made the remarks before Land Day last Friday, when thousands of Palestinians protested to mark the deaths of six Israeli Arabs in March 1976.

Open gallery view Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti: a Palestinian Mandela? Credit: Reuters

The imprisoned Fatah commander, who is serving five life sentences, sent the missive stating that "The Palestinian Authority must stop all coordination with Israel – economic and security – and work toward Palestinian reconciliation," an unusual turn for the Fatah leader, who for the first time called for a complete halt in peace negotiations with Israel.

Barghouti, who was arrested in 2002 by Israeli commandos in 2002, was one of the initiators of the second intifada. He called on Palestinians to combine popular resistance with diplomatic actions.

"It must be understood that there is no partner for peace in Israel when the settlements have doubled," Barghouti said."It is the Palestinian people's right to oppose the occupation in all means, and the resistance must be focused on the 1967 territories."

Barghouti spearheaded the Fatah faction that called for terrorist attacks against Israeli targets in the West Bank, and from January 2002 he even supported attacks within the Green Line. Like many Palestinians, Barghouti drew inspiration from Hezbollah, which forced Israel to retreat froms outhern Lebanon in May 2000, and thought that adopting the Shiite group's tactics will cause Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories.

