Fatah platform and the Mideast peace process

The political platform of Fatah movement that was approved by the congress said that although making peace with Israel is a choice to end the Israeli occupation, "Fatah believes that it won't drop the other choice of using all possible means of resistance to end the occupation."

Such a flexible and foggy platform had angered the Israelis, mainly the right-wing government of hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who insists that the Palestinians must recognize a pure Jewish state and no return for the refugees into the borders of Israel, and the Palestinians can only have a demilitarized state.

As'ad Abu Sharkh, a political analyst and academic at Gaza University told Xinhua that the fact of changing Fatah leadership from being weak to a new leadership of reformists "won't change Israel's current stance concerning the resumption of the Mideast peace negotiations."

"I believe the activity, which the new leadership has to carry out in the future to face the Israeli challenges, is to rebuild new tactics and new tools for any future peace talks with Israel," Abu Sharkh said. "There has to be an active leadership that employs other supporting factors to confront Israel."

Fatah's future after the Congress

New elected central committee member Jibril Rajoub said after he knew that he is among the winning members, "Today Fatah movement is unified and strong. Now we can go to the world with a new political vision, approved by the congress."

He considered the results of the elections "a coup against the former old leadership which had monopolized Fatah movement for 20 years."

Due to the group's weakness, Fatah was ousted by its rival Hamas movement in 2006 parliamentary elections, and one year later the latter seized control of the Gaza Strip.

"I believe that after the conference, there is a 70 percent change in Fatah movement, and it will witness a new renaissance ofa young leadership that would take Fatah from being weak to be more strong to face the future's challenges," said Oukal.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2009)