Potential Arafat successor to remain in Israeli prison

Israel has ruled out releasing jailed Marwan Barghouti, a leading Palestinian figure who is widely seen as the strongest candidate to succeed Yasser Arafat.

Barghouti, a former West Bank leader in Arafat’s Fatah movement, is serving multiple life terms in an Israeli prison after being convicted of involvement in attacks that killed four Israelis and a Greek monk.