At least 70 new members entered the latter, with 20 seats going to Fatah representatives from the Gaza Strip, 11 seats filled by women (the highest number of votes went to one woman who spent years in Israeli jails for her role in the resistance), four seats went to Christians, and one was filled by a Jewish-born convert to Islam, Uri Davis, the first Jewish-born person to be elected to the Revolutionary Council since its founding in 1958.
This Islamic precedent was cited by Yasser Arafat as justification for his signing the Oslo Accords with Israel. ==History== ===Establishment=== The Fatah movement was founded in 1959 by members of the Palestinian diaspora, principally by professionals working in the Persian Gulf States who had studied in Cairo or Beirut and had been refugees in Gaza.
Outgoing members included Nabil Shaath, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Zakaria al-Agha and Tayib Abdul Rahim. ==Ideology== Fatah has "Member Party" status at the Socialist International and has "Observer Party" status within the Party of European Socialists. The November 1959 edition of Fatah's underground journal Filastinuna Nida al-Hayat indicated that the movement was motivated by the status of the Palestinian refugees in the Arab world: The youth of the catastrophe (shibab al-nakba) are dispersed...
Despite the higher Arab death toll, Fatah considered themselves victorious because of the Israeli army's rapid withdrawal. ====Black September==== In the late 1960s, tensions between Palestinians and the Jordanian government increased greatly; heavily armed Arab resistance elements had created a virtual "state within a state" in Jordan, eventually controlling several strategic positions in that country.
In November 1971, the group assassinated Jordanian prime minister Wasfi al-Tal as retaliation to Abu Ali Iyad's execution. In the 1960s and the 1970s, Fatah provided training to a wide range of European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and African militant and insurgent groups, and carried out numerous attacks against Israeli targets in Western Europe and the Middle East during the 1970s.
Fatah espoused a Palestinian nationalist ideology in which Palestinian Arabs would be liberated by their own actions. ===1967–93=== Fatah became the dominant force in Palestinian politics after the Six-Day War in 1967. Fatah joined the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1967, and was allocated 33 of 105 seats in the PLO Executive Committee.
The town's name is the Arabic word for "dignity", which elevated its symbolism to the Arab people, especially after the Arab defeat in 1967.
According to the BBC, "Mr Arafat took over as chairman of the executive committee of the PLO in 1969, a year that Fatah is recorded to have carried out 2,432 guerrilla attacks on Israel." ====Battle of Karameh==== Throughout 1968, Fatah and other Palestinian armed groups were the target of a major Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the Jordanian village of Karameh, where the Fatah headquartersas well as a mid-sized Palestinian refugee campwere located.
Members of the organization fought alongside the Uganda Army and Libyan troops against the Tanzania People's Defence Force during the Battle of Lukaya and the Fall of Kampala, but were eventually forced to retreat from the country. ====Lebanon==== Since the death of Eljamal in 1968, the Palestinian cause had a large base of supporters in Lebanon. Although hesitant at first to take sides in the conflict, Arafat and Fatah played an important role in the Lebanese Civil War.
Fatah's Yasser Arafat became Chairman of the PLO in 1969, after the position was ceded to him by Yahya Hammuda.
According to the BBC, "Mr Arafat took over as chairman of the executive committee of the PLO in 1969, a year that Fatah is recorded to have carried out 2,432 guerrilla attacks on Israel." ====Battle of Karameh==== Throughout 1968, Fatah and other Palestinian armed groups were the target of a major Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the Jordanian village of Karameh, where the Fatah headquartersas well as a mid-sized Palestinian refugee campwere located.
They set up roadblocks, publicly humiliated Jordanian police forces, molested women and levied illegal taxes – all of which Arafat either condoned or ignored. In 1970, the Jordanian government moved to regain control over its territory, and the next day, King Hussein declared martial law.
In November 1971, the group assassinated Jordanian prime minister Wasfi al-Tal as retaliation to Abu Ali Iyad's execution. In the 1960s and the 1970s, Fatah provided training to a wide range of European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and African militant and insurgent groups, and carried out numerous attacks against Israeli targets in Western Europe and the Middle East during the 1970s.
Arafat and Abu Jihad blamed themselves for not successfully organizing a rescue effort. PLO cross-border raids against Israel grew somewhat during the late 1970s.
A large group of guerrilla fighters led by Fatah field commander Abu Ali Iyad held out the Jordanian Army's offensive in the northern city of Ajlun until they were decisively defeated in July 1971.
In November 1971, the group assassinated Jordanian prime minister Wasfi al-Tal as retaliation to Abu Ali Iyad's execution. In the 1960s and the 1970s, Fatah provided training to a wide range of European, Middle Eastern, Asian, and African militant and insurgent groups, and carried out numerous attacks against Israeli targets in Western Europe and the Middle East during the 1970s.
A group formed by leading Fatah members in 1971, following the events of the "Black September" in Jordan, to organize clandestine attacks with which Fatah did not want to be openly associated.
It was discontinued in 1973–1974, as Fatah's political line shifted again, and the Black September operations and the strategy behind them were seen as having become a political liability, rather than an asset. Fatah Hawks.
The primary component of the Christian militias was the Maronite Phalangists. Phalangist forces killed twenty-six Fatah trainees on a bus in April 1975, marking the official start of the 15-year-long Lebanese civil war.
One of the most severeknown as the Coastal Road massacreoccurred on 11 March 1978.
In 1979, Fatah aided Uganda during the Uganda–Tanzania War.
Despite the exile, many Fatah commanders and fighters remained in Lebanon, and they faced the War of the Camps in the 1980s in their fight with the Shia Amal Movement and also in connection with internal schisms within the Palestinian factions. ===After 1993=== ====Presidential and legislative elections==== Until his death, Arafat was the head of the Palestinian National Authority, the provisional entity created as a result of the Oslo Accords.
The prospect of Abbas leaving power in the coming years has also exacerbated tensions. There have been no open splits within the older generation of Fatah politicians since the 1980s, though there is occasional friction between members of the top leadership.
The IDF achieved this goal, and Fatah withdrew to the north into Beirut. Israel invaded Lebanon again in 1982.
Fatah used to be designated terrorist under Israeli law and was considered terrorist by the United States Department of State and United States Congress until it renounced terrorism in 1988. Fatah has, since its inception, created, led or sponsored a number of armed groups and militias, some of which have had an official standing as the movement's armed wing, and some of which have not been publicly or even internally recognized as such.
Despite the exile, many Fatah commanders and fighters remained in Lebanon, and they faced the War of the Camps in the 1980s in their fight with the Shia Amal Movement and also in connection with internal schisms within the Palestinian factions. ===After 1993=== ====Presidential and legislative elections==== Until his death, Arafat was the head of the Palestinian National Authority, the provisional entity created as a result of the Oslo Accords.
Created during the Second Intifada to bolster the organization's militant standing vis-à-vis the rival Hamas movement, which had taken the lead in attacks on Israel after 1993, and was gaining rapidly in popularity with the advent of the Intifada.
Fatah had been closely identified with the leadership of its founder and Chairman Yasser Arafat, until his death in 2004, when Farouk Kaddoumi constitutionally succeeded him to the position of Fatah Chairman, and continued in the position until 2009, when Mahmoud Abbas was elected Chairman.
Farouk Kaddoumi is the current Fatah chairman, elected to the post soon after Arafat's death in 2004. Fatah nominated Mahmoud Abbas in the Palestinian presidential election of 2005. In 2005, Hamas won in nearly all the municipalities it contested.
Several of them gained their positions through the patronage of Yasser Arafat, who balanced above the different factions, and the era after his death in 2004 has seen increased infighting among these groups, who jockey for influence over future development, the political line, funds, and constituencies.
Farouk Kaddoumi is the current Fatah chairman, elected to the post soon after Arafat's death in 2004. Fatah nominated Mahmoud Abbas in the Palestinian presidential election of 2005. In 2005, Hamas won in nearly all the municipalities it contested.
However, on 28 December 2005, the leadership of the two factions agreed to submit a single list to voters, headed by Barghouti, who began actively campaigning for Fatah from his jail cell. There have been numerous other expressions of discontent within Fatah, which is just holding its first general congress in two decades.
Since Arafat's death, factionalism within the ideologically diverse movement has become more apparent. In the 2006 election for the PLC, the party lost its majority in the PLC to Hamas.
Al-Mustaqbal was to campaign against Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, presenting a list including Mohammed Dahlan, Kadoura Fares, Samir Mashharawi and Jibril Rajoub.
Fatah had been closely identified with the leadership of its founder and Chairman Yasser Arafat, until his death in 2004, when Farouk Kaddoumi constitutionally succeeded him to the position of Fatah Chairman, and continued in the position until 2009, when Mahmoud Abbas was elected Chairman.
However, such overt breaks with the movement have still been rather uncommon, despite numerous rivalries inside and between competing local Fatah groups. ====2009 6th General Assembly==== The Sixth General Assembly of the Fatah Movement began on 4 August 2009 in Bethlehem, nearly 16 years after the Oslo I Accord and 20 years since the last Fatah convention, after being repeatedly postponed over conflicts ranging from who would be represented, to what venue would be acceptable.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, Danny Ayalon, said the conference was a "serious blow to peace" and "was another lost opportunity for the Palestinian leadership to adopt moderate views." ====Elections to Central Committee and Revolutionary Council==== On 9 August 2009, new members of the Central Committee of Fatah and the Revolutionary Council were chosen.
Fatah activists from the Palestinian diaspora were also represented and included Samir Rifai, Fatah's secretary in Syria, and Khaled Abu Usba. Elected to the central council was Fadwa Barghouti, the wife of Marwan Barghouti who was serving five life sentences in Israel for his role in terrorist attacks on civilians in Israel during the Second Intifada. ====Reconciliation process with Hamas==== A meeting of the Revolutionary Council was held in Ramallah from 18 to 19 October 2014.
Opinion was divided on this issue. ====2016 7th Congress==== In December 2016, more than 1400 members of Fatah's 7th Congress elected 18 members of the Central Committee and 80 for the Revolutionary Council.
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