Arafat’s nephew avoids return to West Bank fearing revenge of PA

Nasser Al-Qudwa, nephew of late PLO, Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah leader Yasser Arafat, avoided returning to his home in the occupied West Bank as he fears revenge after defecting from the PA and forming a new Palestinian party.

Quds Press reported yesterday that Al-Qudwa, who is visiting Gaza, said that he did not return to his home in Ramallah because he “fears revenge from the ruling PA.”

He added: “I feel better being in Gaza as I will have enough freedom to practice politics and conduct dialogue with the Palestinian factions,” noting that it is safer for him to be in Gaza. Al-Qudwa said he was thinking of staying in Gaza “for a long time” as he would be able “to make wide and deep changes, and reach political agreements.”

The former foreign minister and former senior Fatah leader was fired by Abbas in March 2021 as a result of political differences.

He voiced his fear of facing the same fate as senior Fatah leader and PA Security Services commander Tawfiq Al-Tirawi, who was recently kidnapped and beaten by unidentified people in the occupied West Bank.

“Everything is possible in the absence of the rule of law and morals,” Al-Qudwa said, stressing: “Anything could happen.”

Many in Fatah’s Central Committee have the same views as him but they do not have enough courage to declare their views, he added.

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