TEL AVIV, Israel _ Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas cemented his control over his political party, Fatah, on Sunday after 18 politicians loyal to him won spots on its powerful Central Committee. The vote capped a six-day conference of the party, which also saw a former West Bank security chief receive a boost as a potential successor to Abbas.
"The president after this conference is stronger than before. He has new legitimacy inside Fatah for his leadership," said Ghassan Khatib, a former spokesman for the Palestinian Authority. "There are no challenges inside this new elected body. On the other hand, it will maintain the gap between the Fatah leadership and the public."
The gathering also helped deepen a rift within Fatah, as a minority group of dissenters _ many of them supporters of Mohammed Dahlan, a former Gaza Strip security chief who lives in the United Arab Emirates after being expelled from Fatah _ say they were shut out of the proceedings.
About 1,400 Fatah delegates voted in the election; Abbas had broad control over who made it onto the list of delegates.
"We can't consider this a legitimate conference," said Dimitri Diliani, a former member of the party's Revolutionary Council, who said that he was dropped from list. Abbas, he said, "wants a guaranteed outcome that would allow him to continue (his) governing style, which we consider an autocracy."
The gathering comes at a time when Palestinians, and observers in the Middle East more broadly, are anxiously looking for signs of who will succeed the 81-year-old Abbas.
In a symbolic show of support, Marwan Barghouti, who is serving consecutive life sentences in an Israeli jail for deadly attacks on Israelis and foreigners during the Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, finished first in the voting for the Fatah Central Committee.
Jibril Rajoub, a former West Bank security chief who heads the Palestinian soccer federation, came in second, elevating his standing as a potential heir to Abbas within Fatah.
