Al-Qudwa: ‘It’s time for Fatah leaders to stand against Abbas’

Senior Fatah leader Nasser Al-Qudwa has called on Friday for Fatah leaders to stand against Mahmoud Abbas, who he described as “the main reason for Fatah’s weakness”, Arabi21.com reported.

Al-Qudwa’s remarks came in response to Fatah’s decision to dismiss him over his attempt to run for the parliamentary elections on a separate list to Fatah.

“The door is open for every initiative,” he asserted, “I respect all the Palestinians, including Mohammad Dahlan, who fought too much for the sake of the Palestinian people.”

Al-Qudwa added: “I think a lot of the Palestinians want to change as they believe it is the time to choose a new track for hope,” referring to his proposal to reform Fatah as a condition for him to run on the official list for parliament.

Criticising the rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas, he explained: “It is not difficult for Hamas to face Fatah due to what I have warned about. The cooperation between member of Fatah Central Committee Jibril Al-Rajoub and Hamas Deputy Chief Saleh Al-Arouri is weakening Fatah. Therefore, the president must bear this in mind.”

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Al-Qudwa stated that he is still committed to supporting jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti if he runs for presidency,because “there are no other choices on the table.”

Al-Qudwa shared that he was afraid that the relationship between Al-Rajoub and Hamas would bring Iran to the West Bank “via the back door”.

He also warned that Al-Rajoub might use the national reconciliation and the elections for serving himself and not thePalestinian people.