[Jerusalem Post] Khaled Abu Toameh - About 150 Fatah supporters marched in central Ramallah in the West Bank on Thursday to express support for PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. "What are they celebrating, their defeat in Gaza?" asked Hisham Atiyeh, a 29-year-old shopkeeper. "The people here don't like Fatah because they are corrupt and because they have many thugs on the street." Atiyeh said he was "100 percent sure that if elections were held tomorrow morning in the West Bank, Hamas would win. I'm not a religious person, but I will certainly vote for Hamas, because I don't like what these Fatah guys are doing." Asked if the resumed U.S. and EU financial aid could boost Fatah's standing, he said: "Fatah does not need money and weapons. It needs reforms and change. Fatah must do something good to convince the Palestinians that they are not corrupt and bad. Otherwise, the people will never support them."
2007-06-22 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive