Fatah to split ahead of elections?
In dramatic move, senior Fatah members announce split from party, form new faction in response to old guard's corruption. Palestinian sources claim new movement may have been founded to 'compliment Fatah, attract more voters'
Political earthquake in the Palestinian Authority: Prominent Fatah leaders, including Marwan Barghouti, Jibril Rajoub and Mohammed Dahlan have split from their mother-party and have formed a new faction that will run against Fatah in upcoming general elections.
Attorney Fadwa Barghouti and wife of Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti who is currently imprisoned in Israel, submitted to the PA elections committee Wednesday a list of candidates for a new party - al-Mustaqbal (The Future), including the names of her husband, Rajoub and Dahlan among others.
Shortly after, Fatah also submitted its official candidates' list, under the name of al-Watan (Homeland), to the elections committee, thus prompting confusion in the political system, in particular because the name of Barghouti appears at the top of this list as well.
PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia appears in fourth place on the list.
The list was submitted by PA Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa and other senior Fatah officials. However, it remains uncertain at present how the elections committee intends to tackle the duplication.
'A true representation'
The new party is the true representative of Fatah, one of the movement's top young guards Kadoura Fares said. According to Fares, the new list aims at reflecting the real primaries' results and to fulfill the decisions of the movement's institutions.
"This is Fatah's genuine list, which represents the wish of the movement's members and public opinion," Fares said.
Another party official stated that "this is a revolt against one of the old leadership's corrupt resolutions."
Meanwhile, Palestinian sources told Ynet this move may not necessarily constitute a split in the Fatah movement, but rather a list that would compensate for the weak points within PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' list.
Dahlan himself strengthened the idea, saying that the move is not meant to split the ruling party but rather signals a new dawn for the Palestinian Authority.
Dahlan said Barghouti and other members of the so-called new guard remain faithful to Fatah despite their decision to run under a separate list in the elections.
The list submitted by Fadwa Barghouti places Marwan Barghouti at the top, with Dahlan, Rajoub and other senior Fatah members following.
Rift or political move?
If the new list indeed contends in the Palestinian elections, it is set to run against the Fatah's list, which will most likely be named "Homeland."
However, Palestinian sources have told Ynet that while the rift appears to be significant, it should not be ruled out as a political move by Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his movement, to prevent voters from opting for Hamas and the opposition.
The official Fatah list is considered to be relatively weak and is expected to include most of the movement's old guard, which does not enjoy much popularity in the Palestinian public.
However, these senior leaders are unlikely to quit the race.
Notably, Marwan Barghouti ran in the previous elections with an independent list as well.
According to Palestinian sources, Abbas expressed support Tuesday for the idea that the movement may run in the elections in two factions. On Wednesday he said he would support the formation of a party headed by Barghouti and the younger generation.
During Fatah central committee deliberations Wednesday, Abbas once again tried to coerce the members to place Barghouti at the top of the movement's list, an effort rejected by the committee and Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia.
Following increasing political tensions, Palestinian sources reported that security forces boosted presence in the streets of Ramallah, especially in the vicinity of Fatah's offices.
