VZCZCXRO8959
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0744 1170706
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 270706Z APR 07
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7345
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 000744 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE, NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWBG PGOV KPAL IS PREL
SUBJECT: FATAH: INTERNAL DIVISIONS THREATEN REFORM EFFORTS 
 
REF: A. JERUSALEM 687 
     ¶B. JERUSALEM 648 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  25 senior West Bank Fatah leaders met in 
Ramallah April 25 to discuss a reform process that would be 
separate from the West Bank Field Committee's program.  Led 
by Ramallah-based Field Committee and Fatah Revolutionary 
Council (FRC) member Muhammad Lufti (Abu Lufti), the group 
claimed that the Field Committee does not have a mandate to 
conduct internal district elections and said it will hold 
elections in Ramallah without consulting the Committee.  One 
Field Committee member has resigned and several others have 
threatened to do the same if the Committee's composition and 
mandate are not revised.  Several FRC members and Fatah 
grassroots leaders have lined up against the West Bank and 
Gaza Field Committees, calling for them to be eliminated or 
placed under the Office of Mobilization and Organization led 
by FCC member Ahmad Quraya' (Abu Ala'a).  End Summary. 
 
Fatah Divisions 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On April 25, a week after Gaza Fatah leader Ahmad 
Hillis' public attacks on the Gaza Field Committee's 
membership and direction (Ref A), twenty-five West Bank Fatah 
Revolutionary Council (FRC) members and grassroots leaders 
met in Ramallah to discuss a reform track that would be 
separate from the West Bank Field Committee's program, 
according to meeting participants.  Led by Ramallah FRC 
member Abu Lufti and including senior Fatah leader Khalid 
Matur, the group claimed that the Field Committee does not 
have a mandate to conduct district elections, and said they 
will hold district elections without consulting with the 
Committee.  Abu Lutfi named an ad hoc group of Ramallah Fatah 
members to define membership, and called for Ramallah 
district elections as soon as possible. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) While disputes over Committee composition and 
functions are not new, Fatah contacts say pressure is 
building to revisit the membership of the Field Committee, 
particularly in Ramallah.  Fatah's Secretary for Ramallah and 
Field Committee member Muhammad Yusif Mansur resigned from 
both his positions April 24, and several other committee 
members have publicly said they are also considering 
resigning. 
 
FRC Revolt Divides Field Committees 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) According to several FRC members and Fatah 
grassroots leaders, some Gaza and West Bank FRC members are 
preparing to call on President Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) to 
abolish the Field Committees or put the two Committee 
coordinators (Hussayn al-Shaykh in the West Bank and Majid 
Abu Shamala in Gaza) under the authority of Abu Ala'a, as the 
head of the Office of Mobilization and Organization.  These 
leaders say Abu Mazen has not taken a position on this 
matter, but threaten that "if he fails to make the right 
decision, the FRC will activate the old FRC preparatory 
committees to hold the elections without consulting with the 
West Bank and Gaza Field Committees."  Fatah activists say 
many FRC members are coordinating positions before Abu Mazen 
and Fatah PLC member Muhammad Dahlan return from abroad, and 
are lobbying grassroots leaders to pressure Abu Mazen. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) There is increasing pressure to hold elections for 
the Committees themselves rather just the local and district 
elections the Committees have been tasked to prepare. 
Several senior leaders have criticized the appointed 
committees as undemocratic or disconnected with grassroots 
activists.  There may also be a tactical alliance between 
some grassroots leaders and members of the FCC and FRC who 
have common cause in attacking the Field Committees, but who 
would not otherwise be allied on the issue of Fatah reform. 
 
WALLES