Abbas Re-elected Fatah Chief at Congress Marred by Disputes
08/08/2009 Fatah on Saturday re-elected Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as head of the secular movement on the fifth day of its first congress in 20 years, which has been marred by disputes on how to revive its authority. The Fatah congress, which has convened in West Bank city of Bethlehem, elected Abbas – who was the only candidate bidding for office – unanimously.
But a vote to renew the governing bodies of the secular movement was delayed again and re-scheduled to take place on Sunday.
More than 2,000 delegates at the congress in the West Bank city of Bethlehem unanimously raised hands in favour of Abbas, who took over as party chief after the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat.
In his victory speech, Abbas vowed to "free the Palestinian land and people" of Israeli occupation.
He later said: "This congress must be a new beginning for Fatah" urging everyone to assume their responsibilities.
"We are here out of the desire to achieve the Palestinian people's goals," he continued. "We are here to liberate the Palestinian land and to form our state with Jerusalem as its capital."
Fatah, he concluded, is "strives to see all 11,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, free."
At the end of his speech, the Palestinian president addressed Farouk Kaddoumi, the PLO's second in command, who recently accused him of collaborating with Israel to assassinate former leader Yasser Arafat. "We are all human, we all make mistakes, and we all forgive," Abbas said.
Abbas did not go into details about diplomatic talks, but at the start of the congress last week, he spoke of the understandings he reached with Israel with an American guarantee.
He said this included all of occupied east Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and all parts of the Dead Sea located in the West Bank. "But now the Israelis are trying to deny this and create a reality in Jerusalem, claiming that Jerusalem is united under their sovereignty," he said last week.
"Although we have chosen peace, we maintain the right to launch an armed resistance, which is legitimate as far as international law is concerned."
The convention, which started on Tuesday and had been due to last three days, was extended after bitter arguments between the old guard and young delegates seeking a stronger role and broad reform.
Saturday's discussions centered on ways to clean up the corruption plagued party and offer an alternative to their bitter rivals in the Islamic resistance Hamas movement.
Debate focused on how to restore Abbas's authority in Gaza after Hamas seized control of the enclave in June 2007, routing Fatah forces and limiting Abbas's power to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority, exercised undivided power among Palestinians before it lost heavily to Hamas in a 2006 parliamentary election.
In a new sign of the continued rivalry between the factions, Fatah accused Hamas on Friday of briefly detaining a number of its senior leaders in Gaza. Infighting and corruption allegations have further weakened Fatah, which was founded by Arafat in the late 1950s.
08/08/2009 Fatah on Saturday re-elected Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas as head of the secular movement on the fifth day of its first congress in 20 years, which has been marred by disputes on how to revive its authority. The Fatah congress, which has convened in West Bank city of Bethlehem, elected Abbas – who was the only candidate bidding for office – unanimously.
But a vote to renew the governing bodies of the secular movement was delayed again and re-scheduled to take place on Sunday.
More than 2,000 delegates at the congress in the West Bank city of Bethlehem unanimously raised hands in favour of Abbas, who took over as party chief after the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat.
In his victory speech, Abbas vowed to "free the Palestinian land and people" of Israeli occupation.
He later said: "This congress must be a new beginning for Fatah" urging everyone to assume their responsibilities.
"We are here out of the desire to achieve the Palestinian people's goals," he continued. "We are here to liberate the Palestinian land and to form our state with Jerusalem as its capital."
Fatah, he concluded, is "strives to see all 11,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, free."
At the end of his speech, the Palestinian president addressed Farouk Kaddoumi, the PLO's second in command, who recently accused him of collaborating with Israel to assassinate former leader Yasser Arafat. "We are all human, we all make mistakes, and we all forgive," Abbas said.
Abbas did not go into details about diplomatic talks, but at the start of the congress last week, he spoke of the understandings he reached with Israel with an American guarantee.
He said this included all of occupied east Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley and all parts of the Dead Sea located in the West Bank. "But now the Israelis are trying to deny this and create a reality in Jerusalem, claiming that Jerusalem is united under their sovereignty," he said last week.
"Although we have chosen peace, we maintain the right to launch an armed resistance, which is legitimate as far as international law is concerned."
The convention, which started on Tuesday and had been due to last three days, was extended after bitter arguments between the old guard and young delegates seeking a stronger role and broad reform.
Saturday's discussions centered on ways to clean up the corruption plagued party and offer an alternative to their bitter rivals in the Islamic resistance Hamas movement.
Debate focused on how to restore Abbas's authority in Gaza after Hamas seized control of the enclave in June 2007, routing Fatah forces and limiting Abbas's power to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority, exercised undivided power among Palestinians before it lost heavily to Hamas in a 2006 parliamentary election.
In a new sign of the continued rivalry between the factions, Fatah accused Hamas on Friday of briefly detaining a number of its senior leaders in Gaza. Infighting and corruption allegations have further weakened Fatah, which was founded by Arafat in the late 1950s.
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