Barghouti - Gaza pullout was victory for the resistance

Gaza pullout is victory for resistance: Barghuti Thu Aug 18, 7:03 AM ET



The jailed leader of the Palestinian uprising, Marwan Barghuti, hailed the ongoing pullout from the Gaza Strip as a "victory for the resistance" over the Israeli occupation.

"This victory confirms the message that we have been preaching since the first day of the intifada: that rebellion and resistance is the best formula through which to end the occupation and achieve liberty and independence," Barghuti said in a statement published by a movement campaigning for his release.

"The destruction of Gush Katif (the main Gaza settlement bloc) is the first step towards the collapse of the whole settlement project," he said Thursday.

"This victory would not have been achieved without the massive public involvement in the resistance and intifada and compensates for the blood spilled by the thousands of martyrs," he added.

Barghuthi, the leader in the West Bank of the dominant Fatah faction, is widely regarded as the inspiration by the five-year Palestinian uprising.

He was handed five life sentences in June 2004 after being convicted of involvement in deadly anti-Israeli attacks.