Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday appointed a new collective leadership for his Fatah Party, in a bid to revamp the troubled movement ahead of early elections. Abbas' office did not release the names, but Fatah officials confirmed the lineup.Several of those appointed are younger activists who long clamored to win a senior role in the party. Fatah's Old Guard has refused to step aside, making the party increasingly unattractive to voters. Among those appointed are Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan and Jibril Rajoub, former national security adviser, said Ahmed Ghneim, a Fatah leader in Jerusalem. The new committee will take charge immediately, said Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh.
The announcement came just hours after Abbas called for early presidential and legislative elections, in a dramatic challenge to the ruling Islamic militant Hamas. Fatah has been in disarray since being trounced by Hamas in parliament elections in January. In choosing the committee, Abbas is signaling he is ready to sideline other party institutions, controlled by the older generation.
Ghneim, also among those appointed, said that "when we have an active leadership, that would help Fatah in the upcoming period." Ghneim is a close associate of jailed Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti, seen as a potential presidential candidate if Abbas does not run again. Also appointed were Rauhi Fattouh, a Abbas envoy and former parliament speaker, as well as Ahmed Heles, a prominent Fatah leader in Gaza. "The president has announced it because Fatah needs an organizational structure to lead the group on the ground, specially after the announcement of early elections," said Mohammed Hourani, a Fatah spokesman in the West Bank.