The Eighth Fatah Conference: A Turning Point for Change or a Reproduction of Failure and Failures?

As the date of the Eighth Fatah Movement Conference approaches in May, the frequency of statements issued by members of the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council is increasing; statements that range from showcasing fabricated historical heroics that no one believes to belated warnings about dangers facing the cause as if the people and the whole world are unaware, while the organization's brave members want to remind them. This includes blatant flattery of President Abu Mazen, with some boasting about their military rank, which rivals that of the greatest military leaders in the world, or their financial, economic, or familial standing.

The most dangerous aspect of this scene is the instrumental use of the Gaza Strip and its suffering, in a desperate attempt to flirt with the movement's cadre there using "crocodile tears" and exhausted slogans, or by hinting at obtaining financial assistance from the organization, even if it's just a (coupon) or a tent, as if Fatah members in the sector are mere followers and ignorant, easily deceived as happened in previous instances.

These (leaders) who failed during the "days of goodness" and were a direct cause of the movement's decline and the erosion of its institutions will not bring about success in the upcoming conference except for more devastation and organizational destruction. The real conundrum lies not in the convening of the conference as an organizational entitlement, but in its outcomes that we fear may reproduce the current situation.

As long as the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council dominate the committees tasked with overseeing the conference and the "electoral machine" and control the criteria for selecting conference members, the results will be predetermined in favor of the entrenched elite; each leader will bring their entourage of beneficiaries and opportunists to ensure their continued position of decision-making. When those in the "seat of decision" currently possess the authority to determine who has the right to vote, they are essentially pre-designing the results, which leads to marginalizing opposition and excluding critical and youthful voices demanding genuine reforms.

The real bet for rescuing the Fatah Movement inevitably passes through a radical change in the majority of the current faces, and building a leadership that believes in institutional work rather than servility and narrow interests.

Ultimately, the revitalization and reform of the Fatah Movement are a prerequisite for the revitalization and reform of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the entire Palestinian situation, and the majority of the people still bet on Palestinian nationalism, which is represented by the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah).