Shock waves from the recent elections within the ruling Palestinian Authority Fatah party continue to reverberate in Ramallah and beyond, generating more concern than hope for many Palestinians.
The controversy surrounding the results – and the way members were elected to Fatah’s Central Committee, the movement’s highest decision-making body, during last month’s conference – has yet to subside. Some Palestinian political figures even say the faction’s current leadership, which Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas heads, has lost its ability to lead the Palestinian cause.
“I cannot even call it an election,” Nasser al-Qudwa, a former Palestinian Authority foreign minister and Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, said. “This is deception and lies; a one-man show.”
Al-Qudwa, who has emerged as one of Abbas’s most prominent opponents inside Fatah, said the central committee elections, rather than signaling change, only reinforced the “dire status quo.”
“I am very worried by what I see. This is not a good sign. There is no law, no political program,” he told The Jerusalem Report in a recent interview.
“Mahmoud Abbas has seized control of the Fatah movement by force without providing any hope to the Palestinian people,” al-Qudwa continued, saying that the PA’s ruling leadership seeks only to preserve its power.
“It does not consider anything beyond its narrow interests, positions, and money,” he said. “As someone who has been part of Fatah all my life, it’s very hard and painful for me to say that this is the worst situation the movement has ever seen, and nobody understands where things go from here.”
Failed reforms
The conference on May 14-16 for Fatah’s 18-member central committee was the first in a decade, raising high expectations among some Palestinians, with the leadership promising reforms and an “injection of new blood” into the PA apparatus. Others remained skeptical, however, questioning the move’s genuineness and effectiveness. Al-Qudwa, who decided not to participate in the vote, was among the latter group.
“Abbas brought in the people he personally wants. What democracy and reforms are they talking about exactly? It was conducted in an inappropriate way,” he said, referring to the president’s declaration that the current year would be the “year of democracy.”
Several veteran members of the old guard were ousted, including Abbas Zaki, who is known for challenging the Palestinian leader. Meanwhile, new faces joined the committee. One figure who drew significant attention, as well as criticism, was Yasser Abbas, Abbas’s own son, a businessman who previously held no official political position within the movement.
Al-Qudwa described Yasser Abbas’s rise to the top ranks of political decision-making as a clear indication of deepening corruption.
“I hope he (Yasser) does not assume power after Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) steps down from the political stage,” he said.
Other top Palestinian figures entering the list for the first time included Majed Faraj, the chief of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, and Laila Ghannam, the governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh.
Meanwhile, several members retained their positions on the committee, including the secretary-general of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, who is also the president of the Palestinian Football Association and chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee, and Tawfiq Tirawi, who previously headed the Palestinian Authority’s intelligence body.
While noting that some of those elected members were definitely qualified for leadership roles, al-Qudwa said that this was “not a game changer.”
Although some circles in Israel and the West Bank have attached considerable importance to the new lineup – suggesting it could shape Palestinian politics and determine future successors – al-Qudwa said that “the outcome does not determine anything for the Palestinian people before or after Abu Mazen steps down.”
He asserted that Abbas orchestrated the vote to project an image of reform, most likely to appease US President Donald Trump and to restore his legitimacy both domestically and regionally.
However, in reality, al-Qudwa said, “It is simply an attempt to avoid holding presidential and legislative elections, which Abu Mazen would likely lose.”
Critics have said that the Palestinian cause is suffering its deepest crisis and can no longer be handled using the same methods as in the past, given the major shifts unfolding across the region.
They say that the ones satisfied with the Fatah conference are those who have gained jobs, status, and salaries, in contrast to ordinary Palestinians, who continue to face daily despair and hardship. Some also believe that the conference did little to reduce the growing alienation between the Palestinian public in the West Bank and its leadership. Whether there is any data to support this remains unclear.
The accusations of corruption within Fatah follow the Palestinian municipal election held in the West Bank in April, during which some believe that political lists and candidates were predetermined rather than freely chosen through transparent criteria.
Meanwhile, on June 14, a month after the conference, Abbas issued a statement amending the General Election Law, increasing the number of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council from 132 to 200, and increasing the number of candidates on each electoral list from 16 to 20. The statement said that Abbas would issue a decree calling for Legislative Council elections to be held by the end of 2026.
A few days earlier, in an address to the Revolutionary Council -- another Fatah decision-making body -- Abbas said elections for the presidency of the Palestinian Authority would be held sometime in 2027.
“There is still no indication of a presidential election taking place,” al-Qudwa commented. “It appears that Abbas wants to keep all options open. The amendments he made are unclear. Will participation be open to everyone? It is very vague and was said by him in passing. The test will be in action.”
A Palestinian political analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear, described Abbas's statement as "general talk," promted by commitments to the Europeans and the Saudis.
“There is a lack of clarity, for example, whether only those on a party list will be eligible to run, or if independent lists can be formed," he told the Report.
"So far, we do not know exactly what the election mechanism will be, nor has a date been set,” he said.
Yet, al-Qudwa noted, “If the legal grounds for candidacy are met, then I will run.”
Alternative to Abbas
The rivalry between Abbas and al-Qudwa, the nephew of the former Palestinian Authority’s founding leader, Yasser Arafat, dates back to 2021. That year, Abbas announced legislative elections, which he later canceled because Israel would not permit voting in east Jerusalem.
At that time, al-Qudwa opted to run on a separate list from the official Fatah slate, and in response, he was expelled from the party’s central committee, and his privileges were revoked. Since then, he has spent most of his time in France.
Following pressure on Abbas and reconciliation efforts, al-Qudwa was reinstated in the movement.
“I tried to come back to Ramallah,” he told the Report. “When I was there a year ago, I appeared in several media interviews where I criticized the PA leadership and the way it functions.”
His frequent criticism of corruption within PA institutions and his calls for the departure of the current Palestinian leadership, however, led to even more tension with Abbas and his loyalists, which include Hussein al-Sheikh, the PA’s deputy president.
“This failed regime needs to leave. The Palestinian people are not naive, and there is broad public opposition to it. They know that the current leadership offers no way forward,” al-Qudwa said.
“There is also a problem stemming from the current Israeli government and some of its radical members, which prevents any real progress toward a political solution [for the Palestinian people],” he added.
Having grown up in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, al-Qudwa said that “major steps need to be taken to stop endless wars.” He also expressed skepticism about the prospects for success of Trump’s plan for Gaza, particularly the newly formed technocratic Palestinian committee designated to administer the Gaza Strip.
“Its members may be good administrators in their respective fields, but the situation requires more than that. It demands not only technical management, but also political vision and decisive action,” he said.
Asked whether Western or regional stakeholders had approached him to play a role in Gaza’s postwar arrangements, al-Qudwa said he had not, but added that he would “love to take part in saving the Palestinian cause” and would agree to assume a leadership role “as long as it is filled with substance.”
“The new Hamas should become a political party,” he said, arguing that the organization would have to renounce its weapons and cease operating as an armed group. “But Israel must also fulfill its obligations and withdraw from Gaza.”■