When a Palestinian political body calling itself the Reform and Development Party launched this month, it immediately raised the concern of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, with the latter calling the new group "suspicious" and its ideas toxic. 

The party was established May 1 in Hebron, stating it will represent the Palestinian "silent majority." Its goals include reviving the Palestinians' economic situation, cooperating with Israel to open West Bank roads Israeli authorities closed for security reasons and easing Israeli restrictions on the Palestinian people. In its founding statement, it said it wants to improve communication with the rest of the world, end corruption and nepotism and reform the PA and the PLO.

The new party also addressed some issues not usually discussed such as condemning terrorism and opening dialogue with Israeli nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The constituent body of the party consists of Ashraf Jabari, Khader al-Jabari, Issa Allan, Khaldoun al-Husseini, Sharaf Ghanem and Nasser al-Tamimi. Though the men aren't high-powered politicians, nearly 5,000 activists from throughout the West Bank attended the founding conference.