An Israeli court has convicted a leader of the Palestinian uprising on murder charges over the killing of 26 people by militants from their Fatah faction.
Marwan Barghouthi's conviction, reported by the website of the Maarivdaily, is likely to result in a life sentence for the West Bank legislator (44) - widely seen as a potential successor to President Yasser Arafat.
The Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouthi, who was convicted by an Israeli court on murder charges over the killing of 26 people
Seized by Israel in 2002, Barghouthi denied orchestrating attacks against Israelis. He has expressed pride in resistance to Israeli occupation while declaring his opposition to what he called "the killing of innocents".
Supporters said if Barghouthi was found guilty, it would bolster him even more among the Palestinian public, where he is second only in popularity to Mr Arafat.
Israel charged that Barghouthi "managed and financed . . . much terrorist action". He got a rare trial in open criminal court rather than in a closed military tribunal.
The verdict said that some of Barghouthi's actions were "based on instructions" from Mr Arafat. "Arafat would never give explicit instructions for attacks but he let it be known when the timing was right," the judges said in a verdict read out in a Tel Aviv courtroom.
"He made sure his subordinates understood very well when he was interested in a ceasefire and when he was interested in terror attacks against Israel," the verdict said.
Once in favour of pragmatic relations with Israel, Barghouthi became known for his fiery rhetoric after the Palestinian revolt erupted in 2000.
Accused by prosecutors of "terrorism" during court sessions whose legitimacy he challenged by refusing to mount a defence, Barghouthi would quickly snap "occupation is terrorism" in the fluent Hebrew he learned during previous jail terms.