Marwan Barghouti has decided to run for the Presidency of the Palestinian Authority according to associates of the leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Earlier, Barghouti had indicated he would not run for office in order to maintain unity within the Fatah faction of the PLO which has already nominated Mahmoud Abbas. Now he has indicated he will run as an independent.

There is one major obstacle to Barghouti's candidacy: he is currently serving five consecutive life sentences in an Israeli prison because of his involvement in terrorist activities.

Barghouti changed his mind after holding meetings with his wife and two senior PA officials according to published reports. He has until midnight Wednesday night to formally announce his candadicy. Elections are scheduled for January 9th.

Barghouti, 45 has more popularity on the Palestinian street than Abbas. In fact, in a poll Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research conducted in September (before Yasser Arafat's death), Barghouti had 22 percent of the people's support for vice-president while Abbas had only two percent.

Barghouti represents a younger generation of Palestinians who grew up in the territories while Abbas is more associated with the old guard of the PLO which lived in exile in Tunis until the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. Barghouti initially supported Oslo but became disenchanted with the process when change wasn't happening fast enough. He then advocated violence against Israel and was involved in the planning of numerous suicide bombings carried about by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade which is affiliated with Fatah.

Fears are that Barghouti's candidacy will hurt the chances of the more moderate Abbas who is favored by the Americans because they feel he would negotiate a fair peace. It has yet to be determined what would take place if Barghouti were to actually win the election since he could not govern from inside an Israeli jail.