国际英语新闻：News Analysis: Palestinian Fatah to hold historic congress

JERUSALEM, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- As delegates of Palestinian Fatah movement gather in Bethlehem in the West Bank on Tuesday, they are writing a new chapter of Palestinian history. This week, the leading movement in Palestinian politics is holding its first congress in some 20 years in the Palestinian territories.

    More than 2,000 delegates will be asked to vote on a new program, which in draft format includes the possibility of returning to its armed struggle against Israel should peace talks fail.

    While the outside world will be monitoring the event very closely to see what messages emanated for the peace process, the congress is perhaps more about setting the organization's own internal agenda and about selecting its future leaders.

    The congress should be held once every five years, but bitter political arguments within Fatah have led to repeated delays, both under former Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, and the incumbent, Mahmoud Abbas.

    Another key issue for the Fatah hierarchy is its relationship with Hamas. The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, has become a strong rival both militarily and politically. With elections looming in January, Fatah wants to be as united as possible in order to seal victory.

    In 2006, Hamas proved itself a force to be reckoned with when it won parliamentary elections. Since then violence has created a huge divide between the two factions, and ongoing peacemaking efforts by Egypt have failed to broker any serious agreement between them.

    "The central question is whether Fatah, and under its leadership the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Mahmoud Abbas, and the institutions of the Palestinian Authority, receive legitimacy and are strengthened ahead of a possible renewal of negotiations with Israel or not," said Yoni Fighel, a senior researcher on counterterrorism at Israel's Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya.

    On three previous occasions, Nabil Shaath chaired in Fatah congresses. Today he is a member of the organization's central committee.

    Shaath told Xinhua he was highly optimistic that this week's session will prove to be a success, something that is absolutely crucial for Fatah's future. However, he admits that the movement has many issues that must be addressed head on and resolvedly.

    "People want to make the organization more effective. They want to adjust its course of action. They think they can also address many of the problems that have led to setbacks, like Gaza, so that we can proceed with more effectiveness in the future," said Shaath.

    In conversation with Shaath, a veteran politician, lawmaker and minister, it is clear that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not the first thing on the minds of the delegates as they assemble in Bethlehem. Internal Palestinian politics is clearly to the fore.

    Should the rifts remain within Fatah by the end of the congress on Thursday, there would be a very real fear among the party faithful that Hamas will register a large-scale election victory. However, with a successful, united congress followed by a serious push between now and January, Fatah could still be victorious in the public poll.

    The other key agenda item for party members is the future composition of its leadership. The party has been dominated by the same faces for upward of 20 years and is in need of a shake-up, argued Shaath and many other senior politicians. The question is which of the old guard is prepared to step aside. Shaath believes two-thirds of the leadership should now come from the next generation.

    If these issues can be successfully addressed, and Fatah not only survives this week but looks rejuvenated as a potent political force, it can turn some of its attention to the peace process with Israel.

    This week will give Israel a pretty clear indication as to whether Abbas, Fatah and the PLO are the appropriate partners for rebooting the peace process and with whom it will be possible to compromise, said Fighel.

    For the same reason, the United States and other members of the international community will be closely observing events in Bethlehem, and indeed follow-up comments from Hamas' leaders in Gaza and Syria.

    On the eve of the congress, Hamas seemed still trying to persuade Fatah members to boycott the event. The movement's websites quoted one of the few remaining Fatah hard-liners, Farouk Kadoumi, who is the leading voice among those staying away from the gathering.

    Kadoumi, who still lives in Tunisia where many leading Palestinians resided in the 1980s, is said to be considering staging an alternative congress for those Fatah members still living outside the Palestinian territories.

    One of his lasting arguments with mainstream Fatah is that it has dropped its rejectionist attitude towards Israel and is prepared to live in a Palestinian country alongside the Jewish state.

    While that type of attitude does still exist within Fatah, the organization's leadership has largely left behind that sort of view and espouses a pro-negotiations position.

    Abbas and his closest colleagues hope this week's congress will underline that Fatah is the moderate face of Palestinian politics and that it must be given the legitimacy by the Palestinian people and the international community to be the sole voice of the Palestinians as they begin their bid for statehood in earnest.