Fatah Announces the Date of Its Eighth Conference in May Amid Organizational Concerns and Internal Divisions

Exclusive to SadaNews - The Revolutionary Council of Fatah Movement approved, in its last meeting, the date for holding the eighth conference of the movement during the upcoming month of May, a move that comes at a time considered one of the most complicated phases the movement is experiencing, amidst difficult political and regional circumstances, as well as an internal crisis related to organizational structure and institutional performance.

According to senior Fatah sources who spoke to "SadaNews," the closest approach is to hold the conference simultaneously in three locations: Ramallah, the Gaza Strip, and Cairo, with Ramallah serving as the main hub for the electoral process, while ballot boxes will be allocated for movement members in Gaza, and another in Cairo for Fatah members in exile, amid Israeli restrictions preventing those without Palestinian identity from participating within the occupied territories.

The sources indicated that this mechanism raises serious concerns about the difficulties in regulating the electoral process and the potential for challenges to its integrity, especially in the Gaza Strip, which suffers from a complex security and organizational reality, alongside ongoing internal disputes, primarily the division with the Muhammad Dahlan faction.

Fatah leaders assured "SadaNews" that they are still unaware of the details regarding the voting and counting mechanism, and whether it will be conducted according to the confidentiality and transparency standards previously agreed upon, noting that the seventh conference witnessed challenges to the results due to non-compliance with the procedures agreed upon at that time.

In this context, sources within the movement questioned the possibility of allowing Arab or international monitoring of the elections or for the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to supervise the proceedings, considering that the absence of these guarantees may exacerbate the crisis of trust within the organization.

A member of the Revolutionary Council of the Fatah Movement told "SadaNews" that circulating names of candidates for exiting or entering the Central Committee before the conference convenes is a "dangerous indicator," reflecting attempts to impose preordained results on public opinion, affirming that "only the ballot box should determine the outcomes of the conference."

The leader concluded his remarks by confirming that the eighth conference represents a pivotal moment in the movement's history, stating: "Either Fatah comes out of it strong and cohesive, or the division and fragmentation within its ranks would be entrenched."