Fatah’s election exposes a hardened leadership circle, strengthening figures tied to terror, prisons, and entrenched rule..
Fatah has completed its internal elections, reinforcing Mahmoud Abbas’s dominance over the movement’s most powerful institutions, the Central Committee and Revolutionary Council. The process concluded during the faction’s eighth general conference, with organizers reporting a turnout of more than 94 percent.
The results send a troubling signal for Israel and regional stability. Zakaria Zubeidi, the former al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades commander recently released from Israeli prison after terror-related incarceration, secured a seat on the influential 18-member Central Committee.
The vote also strengthened Ramallah’s existing power network. Palestinian Authority intelligence chief Majed Faraj won a senior position, finishing behind Marwan Barghouti, who remains imprisoned in Israel for planning deadly terror attacks. Yasser Abbas, son of Mahmoud Abbas, also entered the leadership body, alongside Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam.
The conference was held across Ramallah, Gaza, Beirut, and Cairo, involving more than 2,580 delegates. It opened with Abbas’s unanimous re-election, confirming that Fatah’s old guard remains firmly in control.Fatah has completed its internal elections, reinforcing Mahmoud Abbas’s dominance over the movement’s most powerful institutions, the Central Committee and Revolutionary Council. The process concluded during the faction’s eighth general conference, with organizers reporting a turnout of more than 94 percent.
The results send a troubling signal for Israel and regional stability. Zakaria Zubeidi, the former al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades commander recently released from Israeli prison after terror-related incarceration, secured a seat on the influential 18-member Central Committee.
The vote also strengthened Ramallah’s existing power network. Palestinian Authority intelligence chief Majed Faraj won a senior position, finishing behind Marwan Barghouti, who remains imprisoned in Israel for planning deadly terror attacks. Yasser Abbas, son of Mahmoud Abbas, also entered the leadership body, alongside Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam.
The conference was held across Ramallah, Gaza, Beirut, and Cairo, involving more than 2,580 delegates. It opened with Abbas’s unanimous re-election, confirming that Fatah’s old guard remains firmly in control.
