Palestinian Attorney General Abdel-Ghani al-Awewy made a surprise move June 21 to confiscate $1.6 million from the Palestine Tomorrow for Social Development, a foundation headed by former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad that empowers impoverished segments of Palestinian society. The Preventive Security Force in the West Bank had stormed the foundation’s Ramallah headquarters on Aug. 26, 2014, to investigate its activities.
A senior Palestinian security official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Fayyad is suspected of exploiting his foundation for money laundering purposes, as well as the donations received by the foundation for his political purposes through coordination with [former Fatah leader] Mohammed Dahlan, who was expelled from Fatah. These two are trying to return to the Palestinian political scene by carrying out a bloodless coup against President Mahmoud Abbas and thanks to the support of regional and international players” — which the source did not name.
Abbas understands that Fayyad and Dahlan, who have close ties, are two potential candidates to succeed him, as they enjoy international and regional support. When he was head of the government between 2007 and 2013, Fayyad was attacked on the political and media levels by Fatah officials who claimed that he did not give priority to Fatah members in government positions. They also considered him to have been imposed on the Palestinian Authority (PA) by a US-international decision as far back as the era of late President Yasser Arafat, when he was appointed finance minister in 2002.
The confrontation between Abbas and Fayyad sheds light on the organizational differences plaguing Fatah amid several developments. Chief among these is the movement’s failure in the university elections in April; the polarization within Fatah ranks between Abbas’ and Dahlan’s currents; the continuing complaints of Fatah in the Gaza Strip about the marginalization it is experiencing on the part of the movement's leadership in the West Bank; and media leaks about regional understandings to find Abbas’ potential successor.
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