Attempts to bridge division in Fatah movement

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has tried to end the split inside the Fatah movement in light of the legislative council elections which will be held on January 25th, that some are calling for their delay in coincidence with the strong success of Hamas against Fatah in the municipal elections.

This came after member of the Revolutionary Council of the Fatah movement, Qaddoura Fares, announced that the secretary of the Fatah movement who is jailed in Israel, Marwan al-Barghouthi, is a candidate on top of al-Mustaqbal (future) list which was formed by a group of young Fatah leadership who want to replace the current Fatah leadership viewed as corrupt.

A New York Times report today noted that the split in the Fatah movement is effecting the popularity of Fatah. The report said that the Palesstinian President Mahmoud Abbas "was dealt a heavy blow earlier this week when young guard Fatah leaders refused to accept Abbas' choice of candidates for parliament and formed their own list led by jailed Fatah firebrand Marwan al-Barghouthi. They believe their list will perform better against Hamas as it excludes several members of the old guard who are tainted with corruption."

In addition to Barghouthi and Fares, the list includes the designate minister of civil affairs Muhammad Dahlan and the security advisor for Abbas, Jibril al-Rajjoub.

Meantime, a report by The Palestinian Media Center noted that prime minister Ahmad Qurei resigned Thursday to fun for parliament on the ruling Fatah party faction.