[BBC News] Heather Sharp - The gleaming black Mercedes, Jaguars and BMWs are lined up in front of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. The 2,000 people gathered for the first general conference of the Fatah movement in 20 years range from ageing Palestinian exiles, to former militant commanders, to Mahmoud Abbas and his suited contemporaries. The movement's critics see it as a nepotistic, corrupt and ineffective body whose leadership failed to hold the Palestinians together after Yasser Arafat's death in 2004. "Who will I elect?" asks travel agent Khalil Salahat, 50. "Those people who ride a jeep worth $125,000, or have $1 million villas? Will he be my representative?"
2009-08-06 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive