RAMALLAH, West Bank — Fatah's decision to expel longtime senior member Nasser al-Qudwa has highlighted divisions within Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' party ahead of parliamentary elections.
In early March, Qudwa, one of the movement’s most prominent leaders and nephew of late President Yasser Arafat, had announced his intention to form a separate electoral list that he would lead to run against Fatah's own candidates in the May vote. On March 11, Fatah released a statement saying that it had given Qudwa 48 hours to reverse this decision or be expelled from the party, yet he failed to comply.
