Nasser al-Qudwa resigned from the Central Committee of Fatah movement in protest at some of the outcomes of the Palestinian National Council meeting.
In a letter sent to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah Central Committee, and members of the committee, Qudwa said: “I would like to inform you of my resignation from the Central Committee of the movement in protest at some of the results of the meeting of the National Council at its twenty-third session."
He did however indicate that he will remain a Fatah member and stay committed to it.
The Central Committee insisted on choosing certain members and dropped several from a list that the Palestinian president had originally set. After a "bitter struggle," as said by the President himself, 15 out of 18 names were agreed upon, and three seats remained for the Popular Front, Hamas and Jihad.
Fatah chose three members in the Executive Committee - Abbas, Saeb Erekat and Azzam al-Ahmad - and supported other members from outside the movement.
It is believed that the method of selecting executive members angered Qudwa who was elected a member of Fatah Central Committee in the last elections in 2016 for the second time and served as the media and culture commissioner of the movement.
Qudwa is the nephew of the late leader Yasser Arafat, chairman of Yasser Arafat Foundation, and for years he was the representative of Palestine at the United Nations.
Qudwa and Abbas had their differences regarding the investigation into Arafat's death, and he had many remarks on political and organizational performance.
He also served as foreign minister from 2002 to 2006.
However, he refused on Sunday to comment on his resignation through the media, given that the issue is organizational.
Abbas is set to accept or reject his resignation, after returning from an overseas trip in the Americas. If the resignation is accepted, a Fatah official should fill the seat. In this case, the movement’s bylaws allow Abbas to nominate members of the Central Committee without elections.
