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The Palestinian Leadership that Doesn't Represent Palestinians
(Al Jazeera) Diana Buttu - The recent Fatah Congress ended with disappointingly predictable results. Of the 18 members of the Executive Committee, the governing body of Fatah, once again 17 are men, and only one person is in his 40s. The average age of the Executive Committee is pushing past 65 and is advancing with each congress. Abbas was once again elected head of Fatah and, once again, the top 12 members of the Executive Committee are the same members (in the exact order) of the committee that preceded it. With Mahmoud Abbas desperate to cling to and consolidate power despite being in his 80s, and working to quash any opposition to his ineffective rule, he actively set out to undermine Fatah by not allowing dissenting members to attend the congress, disqualifying members and appointing those who would support his oppressive rule. The Palestinian Legislative Council's term expired more than six years ago; it has not met in nine years. Abbas rules by presidential decree. In other countries, this would be called a dictatorship, yet Abbas is treated as a world leader and the representative of the Palestinian people. Abbas has made it normal that a Palestinian leader can cancel elections because his ratings are unpopular. The writer served as a legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team from 2000 to 2005.