PALESTINE - Dec 2 - Barghouti Under Pressure To Back Out Of Poll Race.

The jailed leader Marwan Barghouti, is under pressure from opponents and allies to withdraw his candidacy in the PA presidential elections, just a day after he registered. His entrance into the race, to replace Yassir Arafat, who died last month, caused consternation, as it came less than a week after he gave his backing to Mahmoud Abbas, the candidate picked by the central committee of Fatah, the main Palestinian faction. His wife Fadwa, who is a lawyer and represents her husband, told the FT: "Marwan is continuing his campaign to the end and he will respect the outcome of the results as long as the election is fair and clean". She said she spent five hours with him in prison-the first visit allowed by Israel since soon after his arrest in 2002. A close family friend said Israel granted permission for a visit by her and two Palestinian officials in the hope they would persuade Barghouti not to run on Jan 9, but the three had ended up being convinced by his cause. (Barghouti, 45, was a leader of Fatah in the West Bank before he was sentenced to five life terms earlier this year for his involvement in attacks on Israelis). His candidacy as an independent poses a serious challenge to Fatah and Abbas, known as Abu Mazen, who has little popularity but was viewed as the frontrunner. However, even some of Barghouti's ardent backers in the "young guard" - the generation who grew up under Israeli occupation - on Dec 2 condemned his move. The Jenin leader of the militant Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade linked to Fatah Zachariah Zubeidi, said: "We will support the candidate of Fatah, the one over which there is a consensus. The impression I have is that Marwan is not aware of what is happening on the outside. And in doing this, he is losing part of his history of struggle and his popularity". But Barghouti's wife said her husband was "sane and collected" and that he did not wish to challenge anyone but the Israeli occupation. "I wish the central committee had more understanding and the ability to accept the new generation". Some Palestinian officials said Barghouti was partly prompted to run after realising Abbas would not make his release from prison a condition for talks with Israel. Abbas, who replaced Arafat as head of the umbrella PLO, is viewed by the international community as a moderate and more willing to cut a compromise as part of a peace deal. But he and the "old guard" who returned from exile with Arafat in the mid-1990s are viewed with little warmth by many Palestinians. Barghouti, who learnt Hebrew during previous stints in prison, has advocated peace with Israel but was more militant in his backing for the intifada, which started four years ago. Ten candidates have registered for the presidential elections and have until Dec 15 to withdraw. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are boycotting the poll but they have not called on Palestinians to do likewise.