Gershon Baskin made available his Oct. 17, 2021 letter to Israel’s Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar on freeing Marwan Barghouti. It was titled: “The Era After Abu Mazen and Preventing Hamas’ Rise in the West Bank.”
Dear Sir,
First, allow me to congratulate you on assuming the position of Director of the Shin Bet.
I am writing to you because you are expected to be free from political considerations and because, among other things, you also advise the Prime Minister and the government on matters of security significance.
The Palestinian public is fed up with the leadership of the Authority—in their eyes, they are all corrupt. Hamas’ popularity in the West Bank stems, among other things, from the disgust people feel toward those who put their personal interests before the national interests of the Palestinian people. It is true that Hamas leaders are also corrupt, but in the West Bank people suffer daily from the corruption of the Authority’s officials and see less of Hamas’ corruption.
According to all Palestinian public opinion polls, and from ongoing contact with the Palestinian public throughout the West Bank and among all sectors of society, it seems that the only person currently capable of gaining public trust—and perhaps even uniting the ranks between Fatah and Hamas—is Marwan Barghouti.
I would like to remind you of what the South African government did before the end of apartheid. South African security officials, together with the white minority leader, President Frederik Willem de Klerk, recognized that the prisoner and “terrorist” Nelson Mandela might be willing to speak secretly, from prison, with security and state officials about the approaching new era. Many talks were held between Mandela and the white leadership inside the prison, and ultimately understandings were reached that led to Mandela’s release and the birth of the new South Africa. While there are many differences between South Africa and Israel-Palestine, there is still something to learn from South Africa’s past.
