Nassar al-Qudwa was stripped of membership in Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party after announcing his own list of candidates in upcoming polls for a parliamentary election. Fatah’s Central Committee gave al-Qudwa 2 days to reverse his decision and drop his breakaway challenge and he failed to comply.
Last week al-Qudwa announced he would create a list to run against Fatah in May. He called party member Marwan Barghouti to head the roster. Barghouti is a popular Palestine leader serving five life sentences in Israel after being convincted of terrorism charges in the 2000-2005 uprisings. It is uncertain if the elections will be held as Fatah and Hamas have not reconciled since Hamas won the last general election in 2006. Abbas may face other members or former members introducing lists as al-Qudwa did for the upcoming elections.
Read more:Palestine’s Fatah sacks senior member over election breakaway bid
