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Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1057813453534
Arafat to Purge Abbas Loyalists from Fatah
(Jerusalem Post) - Khaled Abu Toameh Yasser Arafat has endorsed a plan to overhaul the Fatah movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, PA officials in Ramallah disclosed Thursday. The move is seen by some officials as an attempt by Arafat to tighten his grip on Fatah and flush out activists who appear to have shifted their loyalty to Mahmud Abbas and Muhammad Dahlan. Former interior minister Hani al-Hassan, a senior Fatah leader, has been entrusted with overseeing the changes. Many of the local Fatah leaders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip may be replaced, a move that is likely to spark another crisis inside the movement. Fatah officials, including Arafat, are also concerned at the growing power of Dahlan and insist on clipping his wings. "Dahlan is behaving as if he's the king," said one official. "The fact that he's on Bush's payroll doesn't give him the right to sideline the legitimate leadership of the Palestinian people."