RAMALLAH, 28 February 2004 — A meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council (FRC) has revealed a growing crisis within Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s movement, which appears incapable of unifying or reining in one of its armed offshoots, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
The FRC, a key decision-making body, started meeting Wednesday for the first time in more than three years in an attempt to modernize the organization, which faces accusations of corruption, and prevent it from falling apart.
A commission is examining the possibility of organizing a conference suggested by Arafat to give Fatah a new direction, although there were disagreements over the number of representatives from the organization’s various bodies who will sit on it.
Fatah’s young guard has long requested the election of a new Central Committee, the 16-member chief decision-making body, but they are opposed by the old guard which could be replaced if elections take place for the first time in 15 years.
The meeting also saw a clash between Arafat and his former security strongman Naser Yussef.
The pair traded insults late Thursday, with the ageing Palestinian leader hurling a microphone at Yussef, who threw back a pen, Fatah sources said on condition of anonymity.
The sources claimed the quarrel over some “insignificant subject” — but admitted there was a lot trouble between them.
Public Works Minister Azzam Al-Ahmad also downplayed the incident: “The row lasted less than a minute and had no importance.”
The 100 or so of the total of 126 FRC members who attended the meeting also got to examine a disturbing internal report on the movement’s “opaque” and reportedly corrupt financing. Another report stressed the necessity of unifying the sprawling Palestinian security services.
Arafat has always opposed the move, demanded by both the young guard and the international community, starting with the United States.
Participants were also to look into the role played by the Al Aqsa Brigades, a radical armed group which claims affiliation with Fatah but seems to be increasingly acting on its own. The operations of the group, a nebulous amalgamation of factions without a common vision or clear command structure, has frequently been criticized by political figures within Fatah.
The group deeply embarrassed the Palestinian leadership last Sunday when it dispatched a suicide bomber to blow himself up on a Jerusalem bus as the International Court of Justice was starting hearings in the legality of the controversial barrier Israel is building with the West Bank.
Both Arafat and his Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei charged the bombing that killed eight Israelis was timed to harm its world court case against what they call Israel’s “apartheid wall,” a montage of razor wire, fencing, trenches and cement that often cuts off entire villages from schools, hospitals and jobs. Israel seized on the occasion to remind the world that it is building its barrier to prevent attackers from infiltrating its territory and carry out deadly bombings.
“The role of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades reflects the line Fatah decides to adopt. Is it political or military?” nowadays, commented a high-ranking Fatah official.
“If Fatah clearly follows a political path (negotiations with Israel), this will automatically result in the dismantlement of the Brigades,” he added.
