One ghost hovered over the Fatah conference this week. Not quite the ghost of Yasser Arafat, rather that of the conspiracy theory that Israel poisoned, gave AIDS to, or murdered the late Palestinian leader. Many Fatah members who adored Arafat criticized the Palestinian Authority for failing to launch an investigation into Arafat’s death. Some Fatah member previously accused members of the Palestian Authority, including President Mahmoud Abbas, of collusion to kill Arafat in order to garner power. Officially, the cause of Arafat’s death remains unknown, but doctors in Paris, where he died, believe the late Palestinian leader suffered from an immunilogical disease
Further, Fatah members accused the leadership of embezzelment and corruption, asking the Central Committee to release financial statements for the party and the Palestinian Authority. In the past, both the PA and Fatah have been excessively corrupt. Members of Fatah then accused the Central Committee of failing in their jobs, as the party members nearly came to blows before Abbas ended the debate.
These issues that erupted during the conference represent the deep divisions and mistrust within Fatah. Alongside these issues, my previous post explored the issue of armed struggle versus political tactics to obtain a state as another rift within the party.