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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Fatah 'old guard' ousted in polls |
| 2009-08-12 |
| The Palestinian political party Fatah rejuvenated its leadership at its first congress in 20 years, ousting many of an "old guard" dominant under the late Yasser Arafat, initial results showed on Tuesday. But electing younger men to the Central Committee, including Marwan Barghouthi who is serving life in an Israeli jail and several security chiefs, will not bring instant change in the ability of Fatah's leader President Mahmoud Abbas to make peace with Israel - or with Hamas. "This is an unexpected result. It's a big change, a huge change," said Naser al-Kidwa, a nephew of Abbas's charismatic predecessor Arafat who also won a Central Committee seat. Abbas, though a veteran at 74, had himself urged the party to renew itself, seeking to restore popular support. Years of corruption, poor governance and the failure to end Israeli occupation saw Hamas win a parliamentary election in 2006 and humiliate Fatah forces to take control in Gaza a year later. Abbas cautioned on Tuesday that the results were not final, and there were indications that a recount would be called in at least one very close race. Abbas, who has struggled to fill Arafat's patriarchal role, would be strengthened by the outcome, analysts agreed. Hamas would no longer have the pretext that it was dealing with a weak and divided Fatah, said former Palestinian diplomat Abdullah Abdullah. Abbas would also be in a stronger position vis-a-vis Israel, he said. Qurie: Among those older figures who dominated in decades of exile before the Oslo interim peace deal of 1993 was Ahmed Qurie, once a top negotiator, prime minister and among Arafat's first allies in the 1960s. Qurie failed to keep a seat, early results showed. After years of internal haggling since Arafat's death in 2004 over whether even to hold the first Fatah elections since 1989, many of the "young guard" - mostly middle-aged men raised under Israeli occupation rather than in exile - had despaired of unseating what they saw as a gerontocracy clinging to power. Of 18 members elected to the new Central Committee, only one lives abroad. Abbas will no longer have to go to Amman, Jordan, to convene meetings to suit exiled members. More than half the members are new to the decision-making body. Some analysts see younger leaders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as more ready to compromise to clinch a deal with Israel at the expense of historic claims dating to Israel's creation in 1948, when half of Palestine's Arab population became refugees. However, the election of figures like Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub, who made their names running security units, is a reminder of armed conflict, not just with Israel but with Hamas, for whom the Gazan Dahlan is a particular object of mistrust. Hamas in Gaza was reserved in its response. On the streets of the blockaded coastal enclave, many welcomed the prospect of a new start, however: "The fact that the winners were from the young generation was positive," said Mohammed Mrad, 40. "We hope that the youth will correct the mistakes of the past." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Some analysts see younger leaders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as more ready to compromise Ah yes, the mythical, wishfully thinking Some. There have been reports from the congress about Abbas, etc demanding as non-negotiable the entirety of Jerusalem as the capitol of the new Palestinian state, whereas before they only demanded the old, "Arab" section, and the insistance on continuation of all forms of resistance against Israel -- including violence... I don't think the driving ideas will have changed with the coming of the 50-year old "youths", and possibly not even the language and tone. Only they'll be talking to Israel in Hebrew as well as to the world in English, which gives an extra opportunity to say something different to each audience. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2009-08-12 13:33 |
| #1 ...at the expense of historic claims dating to Israel's creation in 1948... If true, that could be big. I remain skeptical however. After all, these are Paleos we're talking about. Just another opportunity to miss an opportunity? |
| Posted by: Spot 2009-08-12 08:06 |