Middle East Monitor / August 30, 2023
Political analysts and observers said on Tuesday that Palestinian Authority officials losing their jobs is part of a “power struggle” between influential wings ahead of the Fatah Conference, Quds Press has reported.
At the heart of this struggle, said political researcher Tamara Haddad, are the supporters of Jebril al-Rajoub and Hussein al-Sheikh, who are members of the movement’s Central Committee. “This struggle precedes Fatah’s 8th Conference scheduled for the end of this year, which will rule out all members rejecting the new US plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including Al-Rajoub and Tawfiq al-Tirawi.”
Haddad noted that the new Central Committee is planned to be completely supportive of the new US plan. She stated that there have been clear US and European demands for change in order to get PA officials who do not reject Washington’s plans for the Middle East and support the American Economic Peace Plan.
According to political analyst Mohammad Shahin, “The firing of the governors is an attempt to inject new blood in the veins of the PA after it failed to act according to the pre-planned policies drawn out by external powers for its leadership.” He added that the dismissals are related to settling internal conflicts and ending power struggles among Fatah officials.
As far as Shahin is concerned, they could also be related to international pressure aimed at changing the PA’s positions. “They reflect embarrassment and political instability within the PA.”
PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced that most PA governors in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip had been dismissed at the beginning of August.
