February 3, 2010

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Founder of the political party the Palestinian National Initiative Mustafa Barghouthi was nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize by Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate and co-founder of Peace People in Northern Ireland.

The nomination was submitted on 15 January. In her letter Maguire cited Barghouthi's "commitment to nonviolence in his personal and public life" as an effort that "is truly in the Ghandian spirit."

Recognition for Barghouthi, she said, would "be a recognition of not only his great spirit of peace and nonviolence but also of the Palestinian nonviolent movement, which gives us all hope for the future of Palestine, Israel and the Middle East community."

Barghouthi was a presidential candidate in Palestine in 2005, was elected to the Palestinian parliament in 2006, appointed Minister of Information under the 2007 national unity government, and regularly participates in the campaigns of village Popular Committees' anti-wall protests.

In her letter of nomination, Maguire noted "Barghouthi has made an extraordinary contribution to initiatives to peacefully challenge the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine and bring it to an end, as well as to efforts to build the institutional framework of the Palestinian civil society and to promote the principles of internal democracy and good governance."