Fatah Mahmoud Abbas’ s party will strip Nasser al-Qudwa of membership after announcing his own list of candidates in the upcoming polls.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ s Fatah party has fired one of its top officials over its attempt to submit a separate list of candidates in a parliamentary election.
In a statement on Thursday, the Fatah Central Committee said it had given Nasser al-Qudwa two days to reverse its decision and abandon its breach challenge, but had not surrendered.
Al-Qudwa, a committee member and nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has not commented on his appointment.
Last week, al-Qudwa announced it would maintain a list to run against Fatah in a May legislative vote.
He called on party member Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader handing down five life sentences in Israel after a military court convicted him of “terrorism” charges during the 2000-2005 uprising, to be above the candidate list.
Abbas, 85, has ruled the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank of Israel by order for more than a decade, and the last Palestinian election was 15 years ago.
Abbas has agreed to hold primary and parliamentary elections in the coming months. They were the first general election since 2006, when Hamas won a landslide victory, partly due to divisions within Fatah.
That put an end to a series of internal strife and clashes that culminated in the bloody capture of Hamas in Gaza the following year.
It is far from certain that the elections will take place. Fatah and Hamas have been divided hard since Hamas took over Gaza, and several attempts at a settlement have failed.
Abbas also has to contend with rivalries within Fatah that other former or former members may follow in the footsteps of al-Qudwa and launch their own lists.
That would risk weakening Fatah’s support and becoming a means for another victory with Hamas.
Abbas’ s popularity has plummeted in recent years by failing to advance Palestinian hopes for statehood, or forging ties with Hamas.
There have been few peace talks with Israel in more than a decade, and the PA is widely seen as increasingly corrupt and undemocratic. Abbas, who was elected to a four-year term in 2005, has not named a replacement.