Overview
- Abbas, who spoke Thursday at Fatah’s three-day conference, kept his post as party leader and promised Palestinian Authority reforms and national elections without giving a date under pressure from the U.S., EU and Arab states.
- The congress, delayed since 2021, is meeting across Ramallah, Gaza, Cairo and Beirut with about 2,580 members to choose the 18-seat Central Committee and the 80-seat Revolutionary Council.
- Analysts and party veterans say leaders stacked the delegate list with Palestinian Authority officials to secure loyalists, which critics argue weakens internal democracy and public legitimacy.
- Several figures stayed away, including Nasser al-Qudwa, as succession talk grows around Jibril Rajoub and Hussein al-Sheikh, and Yasser Abbas seeks a Central Committee seat.
- Coverage diverged on candidates, with Algemeiner citing a PLO Prisoners’ Affairs list that names at least 32 released prisoners running for leadership posts.