Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations.
Middle East analysis and European foreign policy, with focus on Israel/Palestine and Western Sahara. Mountain runner. Usual caveats.
Hugh Lovatt
Check out @ecfr.eu 's updated Mapping Palestinian Politics project with profiles of Fatah's key power brokers and institutions following its 8th General Congress
ecfr.eu/special/mapp...
Abbas was 'relected' as Fatah Chairman based on crowd applause.
When all the votes for the Central Committee were counted, Marwan Barghouti came out on top. Mahmoud Abbas' son, Yasser, was also given a top position, along with intel chief Majed Faraj. Veterans such as Rawhi Fattouh crashed out.
On 14 May, President Abbas' party began its Eighth General Congress which to (re)elect Fatah's top leadership bodies - the Revolutionary Council and Central Committee. Its main internal battle lines were over patronage and power, not ideology or strategy.
European and Arab states should not buy what Trump is selling.
Instead, they should work together to develop and fund an alternative positive vision for Gaza’s future that ensures Palestinian political sovereignty and territorial unity remain at the forefront of rebuilding.
Amongst the 2k+ Fatah members invited were hundreds of active and retired members of the PA's security forces (including top security leaders). Also invited: Ali Shaath, the head of Gaza's NCAG.
Excluded was Abbas rival Mohammad Dahlan and his wing of the Fatah party -- despite Egyptian lobbying.
Trump's BoP plan for Gaza will
👉permanently erase towns such Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, central Jabaliya and Rafah
👉destroy agricultural lands, universities, hospitals, historical sites
👉fragment it into 7 disconnected & heavily surveilled communities
👉Reduce Gaza's size through sterile buffer zones
Trump's plan for Gaza would also:
👉create a "free market economy" tailored to foreign businesses
👉evict Palestinian coast communities to make way for 180 high-end tourist beachfront towers, presumably owned by real estate funds linked to BoP's Executive Board members
New @ecfr.eu by @muhammadshehada.bsky.social:
Trump’s dystopian economic plan will turn Gaza into a real-estate bonanza for oligarchs, obliterating its historic, cultural and social fabric, and herding Palestinian into heavily surveilled gated communities.
t.co/d11lljJPfO
Beth Oppenheim @ecfr.eu:
Europeans should oppose renewed military intervention and press the case for diplomacy. Together with Arab states, they should play on Trump’s desire for deal-making to show him that more military action will not serve his agenda of regional peace.
ecfr.eu/article/sell...
