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Dahlan-Abbas Reconciliation Not a Done Deal

Attempts to reconcile the two Fatah rivals have so far failed, and have instead prompted internal Fatah bickering.
Palestinian security adviser Mohammad Dahlan arrives at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 25, 2007. REUTERS/Eliana Aponte (WEST BANK) - RTR1NWDI
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The Fatah movement in the Palestinian territories and abroad is living through a historic and difficult stage, given its widening differences. The latter is not with Hamas — as is presumed — but between two essential Fatah currents, one led by the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, and the other led by Mohammed Dahlan, a member of the Legislative Council who has been separated from the movement since June 2012. Al-Monitor’s Daoud Kuttab wrote on Oct. 30 about Dahlan’s possible return to the West Bank, but discounted the possibility that Dahlan would return to Palestinian politics, at least in the near future.

The differences between Abbas and Dahlan have reached the “bone-breaking” stage, as described to Al-Monitor by a source close to the Palestinian presidential headquarters. This quarrel heated up after Dahlan, who lives in Dubai, put a lot of effort, using his money and his political connections, into surpassing Abbas within Fatah’s ranks. Perhaps what made things worse between them was when Abbas learned that Dahlan had managed to attract a number of Fatah leaders to his side, according to the same source.

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