Thursday, May 21, 2009

Fatah is key to Palestinian polity


As Fatah prepares for its sixth congress, it must recapture the essence of its movement if it is to redeem Palestinian politics

Karma Nabulsi
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 May 2009

".....When Fateh is spoken of today, the image immediately conveyed is of a politically and financially corrupted Palestinian Authority elite: a small, unrepresentative clique, subservient to Israeli whims and American dictats. This image applies to a small group at the top of the party, but causes one to overlook the other Fateh, the older and larger Fateh.

The majority of the thousands of cadres in Fateh's middle and lower ranks are as committed to the same old principles as they are disillusioned with its current practices. They also appreciate that their party is the only one capable of redeeming Palestinian politics, because it is the only one historically accommodating enough to carry a pluralist and inclusive national agenda forward.

It is the vital first step needed to overturn the current regime of complete political, social, economic, and spatial imprisonment by Israel. Thus, the redemption of the Palestinian polity is utterly dependent upon the redemption of Fateh . [COMMENT: I personally think that it is too late for that. A movement that allows such corruption and such collaboration with the occupation for so long and yet incapable of removing such quisling leadership, is beyond redemption. This Palestinian will not trust a "new" Fatah "under new management."] And why the elusive sixth congress of the movement is so crucial, and why it is so important it be allowed to take place."

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