Salon Radio: Dr. Mustafa Barghouti on the Israeli Election Results

Salon.com, Glenn Greenwald's blog, February 10, 2009 - Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian physician born in Jerusalem and living in the West Bank, was the second-place candidate behind Mahmoud Abbas in the 2005 presidential election in the Palestinian National Authority (a BBC profile of him is here). Dr. Barghouti is my guest today on Salon Radio to discuss today's Israeli elections and the state of Israeli-Palestinian relations generally....

I found Barghouti's answers to be an extremely interesting expression of a Palestinian perspective on these issues.....

[Note: This interview was conducted before the Israeli elections of February 10. - Ed.]

Glenn Greenwald: My guest today on Salon Radio is Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, who was a former candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority in 2005, finishing second to the ultimate winner, Mahmoud Abbas. He's also held various positions in the Palestinian Authority and is a physician as well. Dr. Barghouti, thanks so much for joining me today.

Mustafa Barghouti: Thank you. It's nice to talk to you.

GG: The Israelis are holding a national election tomorrow, and most polls, if not all, predict that the winner of the election will be Likud, or at the very least, that the next prime minister of Israel will be Benjamin Netanyahu.

You're a long-time advocate of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians; what do you see as the implications for a Netanyahu victory in terms of Israeli-Palestinian relations?

MB: Well, unfortunately, I must say that the election of Netanyahu -- and Lieberman with him -- simply means one thing: that this is end of the peace process, and the end of the possibility of peace based on two-state solution. The problem is the timing. This election, this move to the extreme right wing comes at a time when the whole option of the two state solution is almost gasping due to the building of settlements in the West Bank and the creation of apartheid rule, and with such elections, this can be like the death sentence to two-state option, unless, of course, unless, there will be a different policy and a serious move from the side of the United States, which is probably the only country that has the leverage to pressure Israel to stop this terrible movement towards racism and apartheid....

[Read the full transcript, or listen to the audio, at the link.]

Glenn Greenwald is a former US Constitutional lawyer who blogs at Salon.com.