Israel Arrests Jailed West Bank Leader’s Son

RAMALLAH, West Bank —  Israeli security forces Wednesday arrested the 19-year-old son of jailed Palestinian militia leader Marwan Barghouti as he tried to enter the West Bank from Jordan, a lawyer said.

Jawad Boulos said Qassam Barghouti, a first-year university student in Cairo, was questioned for hours at the Allenby Bridge crossing before being taken to an Israeli prison near his West Bank hometown of Ramallah.

“This is an unjustified act altogether. The arrest of Qassam is part of a process to put psychological pressure on Marwan Barghouti and his family,” Boulos said.

Israeli sources in the prime minister’s office confirmed Qassam Barghouti’s arrest and said he was under investigation “on suspicion of engaging in terrorist activities.”

Marwan Barghouti, West Bank leader of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction, is on trial in Israel on suspicion of orchestrating ambushes and suicide bombings that killed 26 people. He has denied all charges.

Barghouti, 43, is considered a strong candidate to succeed Arafat if ever freed from prison.

He was captured in April 2002 during an Israeli military clampdown in the West Bank after a spate of suicide bombings by Palestinian militants. He would face life in prison if convicted.