Gunmen storm Fatah meeting

Meeting attended by senior movement activists dispersed after gunmen fire shots in the air; Abbas condemns violence
By Ali Waked

The chaos in the Palestinian Authority continues: About 20 gunmen, including some members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, stormed a Fatah meeting attended by senior activists in Ramallah Thursday.

The meeting, which had been attended by hundreds of members, was dispersed after the gunmen fired warning shots in the air and accused participants of being “traitors, who are trying to undermine the organization’s leadership and unification.”

The session was one of a series of meetings held by the Fatah's younger generation in a bid to discuss the movement’s severe deterioration. The Fatah’s decline was most obvious in its poor showing in the partial municipal elections held recently in the territories, and particularly in the Gaza Strip, where the Hamas gained in strength.

The meeting held Thursday followed recent developments within Fatah ranks. Last week, members of the organizational committee handed in their resignations, a move followed by the resignation of the organization’s supreme council.

Senior Fatah members including the movement's Secretary General in the West Bank Hussein al-Sheikh participated in Thursday's meeting. Talks centered on the movement’s current status ahead of upcoming elections in the Palestinian Authority in July and ahead of the movement’s conference scheduled to convene a month later.

Fatah branch secretaries from across the West Bank also attended the meeting and expressed their concern over the lack of communication between the organization’s top echelons and the Palestinian public.

Abbas condemns incident

A prominent activist who had attended the meeting told Ynet he believes the gunmen were incited by senior members in the organization’s central committee, who are concerned they may lose perks they currently enjoy.

According to the activist, these were the same people responsible for the stain of corruption that has marred the movement.

He said Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abass telephoned participants and condemned the violence directed at them.

Abbas said the gunmen were not Fatah members and that they are not acting for the good of the Palestinian people.

The Fatah’s younger generation has been trying to push for changes in the movement since the beginning of the intifada, in a bid to replace the corrupt leadership with new faces not tainted by corruption charges.