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| Israel-Palestine |
| Fatah Crisis - Details |
| 2004-02-09 |
| Guardian story differs slightly from the Yahoo story that PlanetDan posted yesterday. Hundreds of members of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement resigned at the weekend in protest at the lack of political reform, corruption and the leadership’s failure to challenge the Israeli occupation. The letter also referred to the growing lawlessness in several West Bank cities, notably Nablus and Jenin, since the Israeli army drove Palestinian police from the streets. Palestinians are killing each other in criminal violence and fights for political turf. We want conflict and armed struggle... sort of. The letter singled out central committee member Khaled El-Hassan, who is close to Mr Arafat, "for leading Fatah toward disaster, division, catastrophes and detrimental fate". But I guess they still like Yasser. Fatah without Yasser would be like The Price Is Right without Bob Barker. Mr Arafat called an urgent meeting of the movement’s leadership at his ruined compound in Ramallah yesterday to discuss the resignations. Mohammed al-Hourani, a member of Fatah’s high committee and of the Palestinian parliament, said: "We need deep and wide reforms. We need a clear political plan. This letter reflects popular demands. We are a party in crisis." After a while you got to change top management. Yasser seems to lack the management skills to get the job done. The LA Clippers could probably use Arafat in the front office calling the shots. Fatah’s constitution requires leadership elections every five years, but none has been held for 15 years. Many members are frustrated at what they see as an aging leadership unable to confront the Israelis, but unwilling to surrender power. Wouldn’t it be kind of a waste of money to hold rigged elections that often? Fixing a contest that frequently might severely shrink Yasser’s rainy day fund. The organisation has lunged from crisis to crisis during the latest intifada. The young turks demand more organization to the total chaos. I guess I should be careful about what I Arabs. "Young Turks" might be insulting. Luckily I have no mustache to be fied upon. Have to wear a helmet to avoid shoe attack, though. Among these were the appointment of the former Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas and his cabinet. Mr Abbas refused to allow Fatah to dictate his policies and resigned from its central committee. Colleagues of Mr Abbas’s successor, Ahmed Qureia, say the new prime minister’s room for manoeuvre has been restricted by tthe Fatah leadership, which chose most of his cabinet. The Israeli prime minister’s office said yesterday that it will shorten the controversial "security fence" through the West Bank and move parts of it closer to the 1967 border. The changes are aimed at placating American criticism of the steel and concrete barrier, expected to be 370 miles long. I guess things are looking consistently down for Fatah. Here is more bad news from Nesday: Barak Says He Supports Israel’s Wall. If it gets worse, Jimmy Carter think about piling on with a stern word or two. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |