With the participation of 2500 cadres.. Fatah movement launches its eighth conference in Ramallah and the diaspora to elect a new leadership

The Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) is preparing to launch the work of its eighth general conference next Thursday, in a prominent organizational event that comes after a delay of about five years from its regular schedule. The conference bears the slogan 'Renewed Launch, Freedom, Steadfastness, Independence,' through which Fatah cadres seek to reorganize the internal house and elect new leadership bodies capable of confronting current political and field challenges.

The conference is scheduled to extend over three consecutive days, with President Mahmoud Abbas opening the first session by delivering a comprehensive political speech in Ramallah. The conference primarily aims to elect 18 members to the movement's Central Committee, in addition to selecting 80 members for the Revolutionary Council, which are the bodies that lead decision-making in the largest factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The conference's work is geographically distributed to ensure the participation of cadres in all their locations, with the main hall at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah connected via 'video conference' technology to three other halls. These halls are distributed in the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian capital Cairo, and the Lebanese capital Beirut, to enable members unable to reach the West Bank to exercise their electoral right.

The number of conference members in this session reaches about 2580 members, representing various organizational frameworks, commissions, unions, and student federations. The largest concentration of attendees is in Ramallah with about 1600 members, while 400 members participate from the Gaza Strip, 300 members from Cairo, in addition to 200 members from the Lebanese arena, reflecting the comprehensiveness of the movement's representation.

Informed sources reported that this year's conference features new organizational characteristics, most notably raising the representation of women to reach about 30% in the leadership and elected bodies. A wide space has also been allocated for released prisoners who spent more than twenty years in occupation prisons, in appreciation of their sacrifices and to ensure the representation of their cause at the core of the movement's organizational decision.

The conditions for candidacy for membership in the Revolutionary Council and the Central Committee include that the member must have spent no less than twenty years of continuous work within the movement's frameworks. This condition aims to ensure that competent individuals with sufficient organizational experience are elected, with applications submitted and reviewed by the specialized organizational committee before being presented to conference members for voting.

Regarding the election mechanism, sources clarified that the process will take place under the supervision of an independent committee comprising figures from civil institutions and Palestinian teachers to ensure transparency and integrity. Procedures begin on the first day with verifying the legal quorum and electing the conference presidency, with the second day dedicated to submitting candidacy applications and preparing the final lists of contestants.

The Palestinian street is eagerly awaiting the nominated names, as the released prisoners Zakaria Zubeidi and Tayseer Bardini have officially been nominated for membership in the Central Committee by consensus. Names of young and historical leaders are also being circulated, amidst news of Yasser Abbas, the son of the Palestinian President, intending to run for membership in the Central Committee, which is sparking wide discussions within the movement's circles.

On the political front, the conference is expected to discuss working papers aimed at evaluating the previous stage and drawing lessons from field and political developments since 2016. Discussions will focus on developing the movement's political program to align with the escalation of settlements and occupation projects aimed at resolving the conflict, while emphasizing the movement's vision for the national liberation project.

Observers and political analysts believe that the eighth conference comes at a very sensitive time, as the Palestinian Authority faces international and regional pressure to implement comprehensive reforms. Some believe that the conference's success in producing a young and renewed leadership may contribute to restoring popular trust in the movement, while others fear that the results will be limited to reproducing the current leadership situation.

Among the hot files on the conference table is the 'National Building Program' file, which seeks to separate the struggle role of the Fatah movement from the administration of national authority institutions. This approach aims to protect the movement from the repercussions of daily governmental work, and to focus on its role as a national liberation movement leading the Palestinian project towards independence and statehood.

The executive director of the conference affirmed that specialized committees are currently working on drafting the final recommendations that will be presented to the members for approval on the closing day. He stressed that the Fatah movement has historically been keen on the periodicity of its conferences as a tool for renewing legitimacy, despite all the obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation or the exceptional circumstances experienced by the Palestinian arena.

The actual voting process will take place on the third day of the conference, with ballot boxes opening in the four halls simultaneously at 10:00 AM. International guests and representatives of Palestinian national action factions will participate in monitoring the process, in addition to delegations from friendly Arab and international parties, which lends an official and international character to this entitlement.

In conclusion, the eighth Fatah conference represents a pivotal station in the history of the movement, which was launched in 1965, as the 2580 members are responsible for shaping the features of the next stage. The elected leadership will have to deal with complex issues including national unity, confronting the war of extermination in Gaza, and countering annexation and displacement policies in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.

The conference represents a new challenge for the movement to renew legitimacy and enhance democratic life in a critical political phase for the Palestinian cause.