Arafat’s cousin supports jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti for presidency

Nasser Al-Qudwa, member of the Central Committee of Fatah and cousin of late Fatah leader Yasser Arafat, has announced his full support for the nomination of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti for presidency, Shehab News Agency reported on Friday.

In a meeting with Palestinian journalists, Al-Qudwa avowed: “I have openly supported Barghouti for presidency.”

Regarding dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, he explained: “It is difficult to unite with him because of the popular mood rejecting him, as well as rejecting his host country the UAE’s latest measures,” referring to the normalisation of ties with Israel.

Al-Qudwa refused to say whether he was threatened by fellow Fatah leaders over running in a separate list for the movement, but confirmed that: “There was not enough democracy during the internal Fatah meetings that reflects positive treatment.”

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On Gaza, he stated: “Gaza is full of economic resources and the situation in the West Bank will be very bad without the Gaza Strip.”

He condemned the Palestinian Authority’s sanctions on Gaza and maintained that the situation would be better when the West Bank and Gaza are together.

Al-Qudwa rejected Fatah and Hamas’s agreement to hold the elections before ending the internal division, calling for ending the division and working to reach geographical contiguity between the two parts of the country.

Concluding his meeting, he reiterated that he did not have personal aspirations and was still a loyal member of Fatah, despite issues relating to freedoms and sovereignty of law that should be respected.