At the 8th General Conference of the Fatah movement, held in Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reaffirmed his commitment to reforming the Palestinian Authority and organizing presidential and legislative elections that have been delayed for years. Abbas declared, “We reaffirm our full commitment to continue implementing all the reform measures we have promised,” but did not set a specific timeline for the elections.
The three-day conference, which opened on May 14, marked the first time in a decade that Fatah elected its Central Committee, the movement’s highest leadership body. During an evening session on the same day, Abbas was re-elected as Fatah leader and retained his position as chairman of the Central Committee, according to the official Wafa news agency.
Fatah is the dominant party within the Palestinian Authority, which faces pressure from the United States, the European Union, and Arab states to pursue reforms and hold elections amid criticism over corruption, political stagnation, and declining public trust.
The Fatah Central Committee is expected to play a pivotal role in the post-Abbas era. Prominent figures vying for succession include Central Committee Secretary-General Jibril Rajoub and Palestinian Authority Deputy President Hussein al-Sheikh. Notably, Abbas’s eldest son, Yasser Abbas—who has lived mostly in Canada and was appointed as a special presidential representative—was also listed as a candidate for the Central Committee.
Speaking ahead of the conference, Rajoub emphasized that the Palestinian movement faces “the most serious challenges in its struggle” and expressed hope that the gathering would help place the establishment of a Palestinian state on the global agenda, while protecting the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
Fatah, the main faction within the PLO, has seen its influence wane due to internal divisions and frustration over the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, paving the way for the rise of the Hamas movement. Hamas won the 2006 legislative elections and subsequently ousted Fatah from Gaza almost entirely. The Palestinian Authority, including Fatah, is viewed by the West as a potential partner for reconstructing Gaza after the war, despite strong Israeli opposition.
Approximately 2,580 Fatah members attended the conference: 1,600 in Ramallah, 400 in Gaza and Cairo, and 200 in Beirut. They will elect 18 representatives to the Central Committee and 80 delegates to the Revolutionary Council, the movement’s parliament. However, several key figures were absent, including Nasser al-Qudwa, a nephew of former leader Yasser Arafat, who boycotted the conference and called it “illegal.”
