Fatah's Seventh General Conference Bolsters 'Abbas's Standing; Contradictory Messages In 'Abbas Statements On Terror, Negotiations With Israel (MEMRI)
Background
Fatah's Seventh General Conference, held on 29 November–December 4, 2016, was attended by 1,322 of the 1,411 Fatah members invited to attend. According to the movement's regulations, the conference should have been held in late 2014, five years after the previous conference in 2009, but Palestinian President Mahmoud 'Abbas was in no hurry to convene it, promising to hold it in late 2016. The conference may have been postponed yet again had it not been for pressures exerted on 'Abbas by the Egypt-led Arab Quartet to readmit his rival Muhammad Dahlan to the Fatah institutions as his successor. This pressure motivated 'Abbas to convene the conference immediately with the aim of preventing Dahlan from gaining a foothold in Fatah and the PA and in order to gain support for his policy and strengthen his position.
The pressures of the Arab Quartet to appoint a successor for 'Abbas stemmed from apprehension that 'Abbas's disappearance from the Palestinian political scene (due to his death or any other reason) would create a vacuum, and were also intended to prevent Hamas from gaining control of the Palestinian Authority (PA), because by law, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) chairman is next in the line of command if the president is incapacitated - and at present this role is filled by 'Aziz Duwaik from Hamas. This pressure has been manifested by Egypt's sponsorship of conferences on its soil held by supporters of Dahlan, and by the demands presented to 'Abbas by Arab League secretary-general Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit along with former secretaries-general Amr Moussa and Nabil Al-Arabi, during a visit to Ramallah in November, that 'Abbas accept the Quartet's proposal to appoint a successor for him and that he agree to a reconciliation within Fatah - demands that 'Abbas rejected out of hand.[1]
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar