19 Facts About Fatah

1.

Fatah, formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization and second-largest party in the Palestinian Legislative Council.

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2.

Fatah is generally considered to have had a strong involvement in revolutionary struggle in the past and has maintained a number of militant groups.

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3.

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 Abbas was elected chairman.

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4.

Fatah is active in the control of Palestinian refugee camps.

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5.

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.

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6.

Fatah espoused a Palestinian nationalist ideology in which Palestinian Arabs would be liberated by their own actions.

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7.

Fatah became the dominant force in Palestinian politics after the Six-Day War in 1967.

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8.

Fatah joined the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1967, and was allocated 33 of 105 seats in the PLO Executive Committee.

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9.

Fatah received weapons, explosives and training from the Soviet Union and some of the communist states of East Europe.

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10.

Fatah sent his army, along with the Syrian-backed Palestinian factions of as-Sa'iqa and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command led by Ahmad Jibril to fight alongside the Christian forces against the PLO and the LNM.

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11.

Fatah nominated Mahmoud Abbas in the Palestinian presidential election of 2005.

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12.

Fatah has at times openly challenged the legitimacy of Abbas and harshly criticized both him and Mohammed Dahlan, but despite threats to splinter the movement, he remains in his position, and his challenges have so far been fruitless.

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13.

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 representation to venue.

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14.

At least 70 new members entered the latter, with 20 seats going to Fatah representatives from the Gaza Strip, 11 seats filled by women, 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.

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15.

Fatah has "Member Party" status at the Socialist International and has "Observer Party" status within the Party of European Socialists.

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16.

Fatah has maintained a number of militant groups since its founding.

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17.

Fatah is generally considered to have had a strong involvement in terrorism in the past, though unlike its rival Islamist faction Hamas, Fatah is no longer regarded as a terrorist organization by any government.

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18.

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.

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19.

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.

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