Former Israel PM met ousted Fatah leader Dahlan behind closed doors in UAE, Report

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert recently met former Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan in Abu Dhabi, according to a report by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan) on Thursday.

The broadcaster said the meeting took place “away from the public eye”, without disclosing details of the agenda or issues discussed. Olmert declined to comment when contacted, the report added.

Dahlan, a former senior figure in the Fatah movement, was expelled from the party in 2011 amid internal disputes. His name has periodically surfaced as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

In March 2025, Abbas announced a general amnesty for individuals expelled from Fatah, although it was unclear how this would affect Dahlan’s status.

Dahlan was sentenced in absentia by a Palestinian court in 2016 to three years in prison on embezzlement charges relating to $16m allegedly misappropriated during his tenure as security coordinator for the Palestinian Authority. He has denied wrongdoing.

Fatah has accused Dahlan of bearing responsibility for the failure of Palestinian security forces to prevent Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Following his split from Fatah, Dahlan formed the Democratic Reformist Current, which drew several former Fatah officials and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

In 2014, Abbas publicly accused Dahlan of maintaining ties with Israeli officials and of having prior knowledge of an assassination attempt against Salah al-Din Shehadeh, a senior Hamas figure, allegations Dahlan has rejected.

Born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza, Dahlan began his political career within Fatah under the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. After the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994 under the Oslo Accords, he headed the Preventive Security Service in Gaza.

Opponents of the peace process with Israel, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have accused Dahlan of overseeing arrests and alleged mistreatment of their members during his time in office. He also took part in negotiations with Israel, including the Cairo talks in 1994, the Camp David II summit in 2000 and the Taba talks in 2001.