Word: israelity
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...inquiry and targeting one of his key allies is seen as another means of weakening Abbas' authority. A second target will be Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, a political independent appointed by Abbas at Washington's behest, although against strong opposition from both Hamas and Fatah. (See pictures of Israel's assault on Gaza...
Since the death of Abbas' predecessor, Yasser Arafat, U.S. peace efforts have relied on the moderate and relatively pliable leader to negotiate a two-state agreement with Israel. But the prevailing view within Fatah is that Abbas has achieved precious little for his negotiation efforts and that this has been a prime factor in weakening Fatah in the face of the challenge by its more militant rival, Hamas. The Islamists trounced Fatah in the last democratic elections for the Palestinian parliament in 2006, and many fear that a candidate backed by Hamas would likely beat Abbas in presidential elections currently...
...reaffirm the Palestinians' right to resistance, specifying nonviolent challenges to the occupation but remaining silent on the question of armed resistance and the future of the Fatah-affiliated militants of al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade. It will flatly reject Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, on the grounds that this undermines the rights of Palestinian refugees and of those with Israeli citizenship. It will also insist on a complete freeze on Jewish settlements in occupied territory as a precondition for any talks with Israel, which it will stress must be based...
...offer is clearly not the priority for much of Fatah, which believes that such an agreement would kill its organization. Instead, the conference will seek to rebrand Fatah with a more radical stance in order to more effectively compete with Hamas. Unlike Arafat, who framed his negotiation strategy with Israel in revolutionary language (which, of course, heightened Israeli suspicions over his bona fides as a peacemaker), Abbas is unable to couch his positions in the language of struggle, and without Arafat's charisma, he is seen as lacking a clear political vision to offer the Palestinians...
Abbas is likely to fight back fiercely, seeing the conference as integral to maintaining his prestige. Critics within Fatah have complained about his decision to hold the event in the West Bank, which remains under Israel's control, giving it veto power over which delegates from abroad will be allowed to attend. Many Fatah members in Arab countries and even some in Gaza have challenged the decision to hold the event in Bethlehem, and Abbas has also been accused of summarily expanding the delegate list to boost his support. The debate at the conference will certainly be intense...