Posted on 12/04/2016 9:40:36 AM PST by Kaslin
The mills of democratic politics in Palestinian organizations grind slowly, if they ever grind at all. This was borne out once again at the 7th General Congress of the Fatah section of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) held in Ramallah, the capital of the West Bank, on November 29, 2016, the anniversary of the day in 1947 when the UN General Assembly approved the Partition of Palestine. This was the first such conference since 2009. It was attended by 1400 delegates compared with 2355 in 2009.
The main function of the Congress was to elect the leader of Fatah, the Fatah Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council. The main event was the reelection of 81-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, said to be suffering from a heart problem, and having undergone cardiac catheterization, as chairman of Fatah. The stated term of office is five years, but it is unpredictable when it will actually end. The lack of adherence to rules and time restraints by Palestinian leaders is familiar. Mr. Abbas is presently in the twelfth year of his four-year term as president of the Palestinian Authority, and appears ready to hold the post until destiny calls.
In the Congress in Ramallah, Abbas, not unexpectedly, was elected unanimously despite a possible challenge from his long-time rival, the 55-year-old Mohammed Dahlan, former leader of Fatah in the Gaza Strip, who is in exile in Abu Dhabi. Dahlan had been minister for Palestinian security for a short time in 2003 and had organized a paramilitary force in 2007.
However, no challenge took place. Abbas has been wary of a threat to his leadership and acted ruthlessly. He thus suspended key Dahlan supporters from Fatah, reduced the PA salaries of many others, and prevented many other Dahlan supporters from attending the Fatah conference.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
How do you negotiate with an entity that has only genocide on its agenda? When the Palestinians begin to love their own children more than they hate Israel, there will be hope for peace.
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