A poll released Friday revealed that 71% of Israelis would support a trade of Palestinian political prisoner Marwan Barghouthi, who is one of 10,000 Palestinians held in prison camps by Israel, for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is the one Israeli held by Palestinian resistance fighters. In spite of the newest poll, Israeli leaders remain steadfast in their refusal to negotiate on the question of Marwan Barghouthi's release. Marwan Barghouthi is the founder of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of the Fateh party, and has been sentenced by Israeli courts for attacks carried out by members of that party.
The Israeli Deputy Defense Minister had proposed the possibility of releasing Barghouthi in exchange for Shalit last week, but other members of the Israeli administration quickly rebuffed the suggestion.
Shalit, who was captured by Palestinian resistance fighters from an Israeli military base near Gaza in 2006, is still being held, according to the resistance groups – although his condition is unknown.
The poll was conducted by the Dahaf Institute, and has a 4.5% margin of error.
