Shaath: Dahlan is creating division within Fatah

Nabil Shaath, a member of Fatah Central Committee, criticised the ousted Fatah official, Mohammed Dahlan, accusing him of working on creating a schism in the movement.

He also revealed that there is a permanent line of communication between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

Shaath also confirmed that there is progress in the talks with Hamas on the matter of reconciliation, noting that there are two issues hindering the end of the separation.

A delegation consisting of Fatah Central Committee members Nabil Shaath, Jamal Muhaissen, Muhammad al-Madani and Sakher Bsaisso arrived in Gaza two days ago through the Beit Hanoun crossing located in northern Gaza.

Shaath told Anadolu News Agency, “Dahlan no longer belongs to Fatah, but he is still meddling in Fatah’s internal affairs together with some of his loyalists, who continue to say they are a part of Fatah. However, this is a matter we will overcome soon.”

Mohammed Dahlan is a former leader of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip, but broke away from the movement in mid- 2011 and currently lives in the United Arab Emirates.

However, Dahlan, who is still influential amongst the Fatah members in Gaza, refuses his dismissal procedures, and often criticises President Abbas.

In relation to reports noting Abbas’s concern over a rapprochement between Dahlan and Hamas, Shaath said, “What worries the president are the attempts to break the movement’s unity, but we are confronting such attempts. Fatah is unaffected by any attempt to divide the unity of its ranks (…) and all the breaks in the movement’s unity are long gone and a part of history. Those who ultimately broke away from the movement were forced to become agents for other countries.”

He also denied that the attempts at rapprochement between Dahlan and Hamas are the reason behind hastening reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.

“The reason for hastening the reconciliation is the difficult situation in Gaza; no person on Earth would allow 1.7 million people to live without safe drinking water, electricity, or fuel, not to mention the difficulty of movement, travel, and transfer,” Shaath said.

He added, “All the conditions indicate that there must be reconciliation in order to serve the interests of the two sides in Gaza and the West Bank.”

Shaath also said he will be meeting with Haniyeh in the upcoming hours to talk about “reconciliation, negotiations, the international and Arab situation, the financial situation of the Palestinian Authority, and to listen to what Hamas has to say about these matters.”

He also mentioned the two issues that are hindering the reconciliation, “the agreement on forming a transitional government headed by Abbas and the agreement to hold elections in six months.”

He added, “If these matters are agreed upon, then the division between the two movements will end forever; there is nothing else that requires negotiation.”

On another note, Shaath stated that one of the main objectives of his visit to the Gaza Strip is “to arrange the internal situation and affairs of Fatah.”

He explained that the movement holds continuous meetings in order to reach a clear vision for organizing Fatah’s internal affairs in Gaza.