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The Planned Palestinian Election Is Really a Battle within Fatah

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Pinhas Inbari - When Palestinian elections were first discussed, the spotlight immediately turned to the struggle between Fatah and Hamas. But the story is really about Fatah against Fatah. The "first Fatah" consists of the PLO leadership who moved to the Palestinian territories from Tunisia and set up headquarters in Ramallah after Israel's withdrawals following the 1994 Oslo Accords. The "second Fatah" are long-term Palestinian residents of the West Bank, including those in Nablus, Bethlehem, and Hebron, who want stability in their lives. A year ago, I visited Jenin and met with members of the Tanzim grassroots offshoot of Fatah. I was surprised to hear that they wanted one state with Israel. The reason: they do not believe the "Tunisians" because they are "foreigners," and they prefer Israel to "Ramallah." Indeed, the desire for one state is an opinion heard in broad circles in the West Bank. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that Palestinian support for the two-state solution had declined to 39% in 2020.
2021-03-25 00:00:00
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