WRAP Barghouti's lawyer; adds miilitants asking Barghouti drop out of race

(12 Dec 2004) Beersheba, Israel 1. Exterior prison, tilt down from watchtower 2. Sign outside prison 3. Set up of Khader Shkeirat, Barghouti's lawyer coming out after visiting him 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Khader Shkeirat, Marwan Barghouti's lawyer "The decision will be taken in Ramallah. I presented him with the discussions with (regarding) his position, I will deliver it to his colleagues at Fatah movement and they will take the decision either to continue running or not." 5. Khader Shkeirat walking to his car Nablus, West Bank 6. Close up of armed members of the "Al Aqsa Brigade" at protest 7. Al Aqsa Brigade members on balcony addressing the protest, flanked by armed men 8. Top shot from balcony looking down on crowd at protest 9. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Al Aqsa Brigades member reading out statement "We send our best wishes to our resilient brother Marwan al Barghouti, the founder of the brigades and its commander in chief. We won't forget our promise to our martyrs and prisoners until the total liberation of Palestinian lands. We are calling on him to think again about his candidature in the presidential election. Your resistance and your sacrifice has been very significant and that will always be our opinion even if you decide to step down from this election." 10. Wide shot from crowd, looking up at gunmen on balcony, audio of shots being fired 11. Al Aqsa Brigade marching past, audio of firing STORYLINE: Pressure on jailed Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti increased on Sunday to drop out of the race for Palestinian presidency in the interest of Palestinian unity. Barghouti's lawyer Khader Shkeirat visited him on Sunday in his Beersheba prison to discuss his candidacy. An announcement was expected later in the day. In the West bank town of Nablus, hundreds of supporters of the"Al Aqsa Brigade", the military offshoot of Fatah, called on Barghouti to drop out. A statement released by the group, said Barghouti was still the leader and founder of Al Aqsa Brigades and will "remain so", but it asked him to withdraw his candidacy for the presidential elections. According to recent polls, interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, the candidate of Arafat's Fatah movement, is running neck-and-neck with jailed Barghouti, a Fatah member who is running as an independent. Abbas has told leaders of several militant groups, including Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, that he will negotiate an amnesty for them with the Israelis after the elections if they agree to halt attacks and join the mainstream security forces. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...