By Taghreed Saadeh
There was a time, as the era of the late President Yasser Arafat was drawing to a close, when it became clear that his illness marked the approaching end of a defining chapter in the Palestinian national movement. At that stage, media outlets hostile to Fatah including Israeli media were filled with predictions of internal rivalries and power struggles that, they claimed, would inevitably lead to civil conflict.
Yet Arafat’s passing came and went without the internal strife that much of the Arab, international, and Israeli media had forecast. Instead, the Palestinian leadership came together and reached a consensus in selecting Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), then the second ranking figure in both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Fatah movement, despite widespread media speculation about the ambitions and influence of other senior leaders.
Today, discussions have once again turned to the post-Abbas era, accompanied by renewed predictions of divisions that could fracture Fatah and push it toward fragmentation. Such narratives overlook the fact that President Arafat led both Fatah and the Palestinian cause for decades, without the destructive internal conflicts that many had anticipated. What, then, justifies the certainty with which similar predictions are being made today?
Within Fatah, there is a broad understanding that major decisions are generally reached through consensus. Claims that the movement’s historic leadership is on the verge of violent confrontation are, in reality, exaggerated and fail to reflect the movement’s internal dynamics. And if conflict were to emerge, its driving forces would likely not come from within Fatah itself, but rather from external support provided by Israel and by those aligned with Hamas.
In many internal discussions, I often hear that President Abbas himself may be the principal obstacle to the return of Mohammed Dahlan and his supporters to the movement. While this interpretation is not entirely accurate given that Dahlan also faces rivals within Fatah’s Central Committee the eventual departure of Abbas, may God grant him a long life, could potentially help restore some of the movement’s organizational strength.
What is more concerning, however, are the ambitions of certain factions that believe they can capitalize on any internal disagreements. Equally troubling are attempts by some to cultivate international recognition as a pathway to imposing themselves domestically. At the same time, many of Fatah’s opponents have begun moving closer to Hamas, believing it to be the stronger party, particularly in light of Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy of managing the conflict while allowing Hamas to remain in power, thereby preventing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Fatah’s greatest strength lies in its commitment to its historic leadership role and its resilience in confronting some of the most difficult periods in the Palestinian national struggle. One notable example was its opposition to what became known as the “Deal of the Century” a stance whose significance many Palestinians, as well as many of the movement’s critics, failed to fully appreciate as an important national achievement.
Today, as Palestine stands on a knife’s edge, we must remember that endurance belongs to those who remain strong, regardless of the noise surrounding them. Fatah remains the most influential Palestinian movement, despite persistent efforts by its rivals and adversaries to diminish its achievements and national legacy. It is worth remembering that Fatah continues to be the largest political organization represented in Israeli prisons, and that more than half of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences are members of the movement.
For this reason, do not be swayed by Hamas-affiliated media, supported by all of Fatah’s opponents including those who once emerged from its own ranks. A mother may give birth to both the righteous and the wayward. Such is Fatah. In the eyes of its supporters, it remains the nurturing mother that continues to guide the Palestinian people toward safety and stability, in the face of opportunists and all those who, knowingly or otherwise, align themselves with the occupation’s agenda even when, regrettably, they choose to describe themselves as “the resistance.”
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