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| Young leaders dominate Fatah vote | Young leaders dominate Fatah vote |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Younger leaders have gained powerful posts in Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, early results from its first poll in 20 years show. | Younger leaders have gained powerful posts in Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, early results from its first poll in 20 years show. |
| Mr Abbas remains the head, but several veterans apparently lost seats on the powerful central committee. | Mr Abbas remains the head, but several veterans apparently lost seats on the powerful central committee. |
| Popular jailed leader Marwan Barghouti, and influential Mohammad Dahlan, who is disliked by supporters of rival faction Hamas, were both set to gain seats. | Popular jailed leader Marwan Barghouti, and influential Mohammad Dahlan, who is disliked by supporters of rival faction Hamas, were both set to gain seats. |
| Young members wanted to depose an "old guard" seen as divided and corrupt. | Young members wanted to depose an "old guard" seen as divided and corrupt. |
| The party, which lost elections to Hamas in 2006, has been trying to restore its image. It is widely seen as ineffective and dominated by cronyism. | The party, which lost elections to Hamas in 2006, has been trying to restore its image. It is widely seen as ineffective and dominated by cronyism. |
| Fatah has long been split between the ideologically-driven contemporaries of the movement's founder Yasser Arafat, who have spent years exiled overseas, and younger, more pragmatic, locally-born leaders who have negotiated with Israel. | Fatah has long been split between the ideologically-driven contemporaries of the movement's founder Yasser Arafat, who have spent years exiled overseas, and younger, more pragmatic, locally-born leaders who have negotiated with Israel. |
| Preliminary results from the vote during the congress in the West Bank town of Bethlehem showed new officials had gained 14 out of 18 seats on the powerful central committee. | Preliminary results from the vote during the congress in the West Bank town of Bethlehem showed new officials had gained 14 out of 18 seats on the powerful central committee. |
| ANALYSIS Heather Sharp, BBC News, Jerusalem | |
| Finally, the vote was held, after a long week, dogged by rows and factions' fears that their rivals had stacked the conference with sympathisers. | Finally, the vote was held, after a long week, dogged by rows and factions' fears that their rivals had stacked the conference with sympathisers. |
| Palestinians may be heartened that Fatah got this far, and the sway of ageing exiles who do not share their daily struggles has been reduced. | Palestinians may be heartened that Fatah got this far, and the sway of ageing exiles who do not share their daily struggles has been reduced. |
| But the so-called "new blood" are all established players in Palestinian politics, and still have a lot to prove if they are to convince voters they have left behind the days of corruption and infighting under Arafat. | But the so-called "new blood" are all established players in Palestinian politics, and still have a lot to prove if they are to convince voters they have left behind the days of corruption and infighting under Arafat. |
| While they broadly agree on a two-state solution, there are differences over Hamas. Mr Barghouti's supporters want to push harder for unity - and he remains in jail in any case - while Mr Dahlan is at the forefront of the feud. | While they broadly agree on a two-state solution, there are differences over Hamas. Mr Barghouti's supporters want to push harder for unity - and he remains in jail in any case - while Mr Dahlan is at the forefront of the feud. |
| Elections slated for 2010 will not happen without some kind of deal with Hamas. So for most Palestinians, a unified leadership with a popular mandate to fight their cause on the international stage remains as far off as ever. Can Fatah reinvent itself Profile: Fatah movement | Elections slated for 2010 will not happen without some kind of deal with Hamas. So for most Palestinians, a unified leadership with a popular mandate to fight their cause on the international stage remains as far off as ever. Can Fatah reinvent itself Profile: Fatah movement |
| Only four of the 10 members of the so-called "old guard" managed to hold onto their seats on the central committee, the results showed. | Only four of the 10 members of the so-called "old guard" managed to hold onto their seats on the central committee, the results showed. |
| The Fatah veteran Ahmed Qurei, who was the first Palestinian prime minister, was on course to lose his seat. | The Fatah veteran Ahmed Qurei, who was the first Palestinian prime minister, was on course to lose his seat. |
| One member of the founding generation, Muhammad Ghneim (also known as Abu Maher Ghneim), who is considered close to Mr Abbas and recently returned from Tunisia, appeared to have won a seat. | One member of the founding generation, Muhammad Ghneim (also known as Abu Maher Ghneim), who is considered close to Mr Abbas and recently returned from Tunisia, appeared to have won a seat. |
| Saeb Erekat, a key negotiator with Israel, and Jibril Rajoub, who like Mr Dahlan has led one of the party's security forces, also gained posts on the committee, the partial results showed. | Saeb Erekat, a key negotiator with Israel, and Jibril Rajoub, who like Mr Dahlan has led one of the party's security forces, also gained posts on the committee, the partial results showed. |
| Mr Rajoub said the result was "a coup against a leadership that had monopolized the movement for a long time without even presenting a report about its work". | |
| Election results for Fatah's other ruling body, the Revolutionary Council, are expected later on Tuesday. | Election results for Fatah's other ruling body, the Revolutionary Council, are expected later on Tuesday. |
| Mr Barghouti and Mr Dahlan are the best known of the new members. | Mr Barghouti and Mr Dahlan are the best known of the new members. |
| Mr Barghouti was a popular grassroots leader during the intifada or uprising that began in 2000 and has been seen as a potential unifying successor to Arafat. | Mr Barghouti was a popular grassroots leader during the intifada or uprising that began in 2000 and has been seen as a potential unifying successor to Arafat. |
| But he is currently serving five life terms in Israel for organising attacks in Israel. He denies the charges and has said he opposes attacks on civilians in Israel. | But he is currently serving five life terms in Israel for organising attacks in Israel. He denies the charges and has said he opposes attacks on civilians in Israel. |
| Mr Dahlan was the head of a Fatah security force in Gaza, which was forced to leave after fighting with Hamas in June 2007. | |
| He was strongly disliked by Hamas and other Islamist groups before that, after he led crackdowns against them. | He was strongly disliked by Hamas and other Islamist groups before that, after he led crackdowns against them. |
| The congress on Saturday elected Mr Abbas unopposed as the party leader, a post which he has held since the death of Arafat, in 2004. | The congress on Saturday elected Mr Abbas unopposed as the party leader, a post which he has held since the death of Arafat, in 2004. |
| The conference, which began last Tuesday, dragged on an extra five days amid rows over voting procedures and the outgoing central committee's failure to give a written report of its activities and spending over the past 20 years. | |
| Hamas blocked about 400 delegates from leaving Gaza, and there were protracted disagreements about how their votes should be registered. | |
| International observers have been watching to see if Fatah, which committed itself to peace negotiations in the early 1990s, would rule out armed struggle. | International observers have been watching to see if Fatah, which committed itself to peace negotiations in the early 1990s, would rule out armed struggle. |
| The conference discussed proposed revisions to Fatah's charter, although the document has yet to be finalised. | |
| Delegates said the new wording would not abandon the old document's call to "liquidate the Zionist entity", but would include a commitment to "two states for two people". | |
| It would call for a Palestinian state be established on the basis of 1967 borders - meaning all of the West Bank and Gaza - and maintain the "right to resistance" by all means, delegates said. | |
| Fatah was founded in the 1950s to lead armed struggle against Israel, but effectively rejected violence and endorsed a two-state solution to the conflict by backing the Oslo peace process in the early 1990s. | |
| During the conference, delegates' generally held to Fatah's existing demands for the release of all Israeli-held Palestinian prisoners, a capital in Jerusalem, the removal of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and the right of return for all Palestinians who fled or were forced out during Israeli-Arab wars. | |
| Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Fatah's "radical and uncompromising positions" created an "unbridgeable gap between us and them". | |
| Are you in the region? Can Fatah renew itself? You can send us your comments using the form below: | Are you in the region? Can Fatah renew itself? You can send us your comments using the form below: |
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