Fatah bans Dahlan from meetings

30/12/2010

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Fatah's Central Committee decided Tuesday to continue to ban member Muhammad Dahlan from meetings until an investigation into his conduct is completed.

Meeting in Ramallah, the committee appointed Nabil Abu Rudeina to replace Dahlan as Fatah's Media Commissioner, and named Abu Rudeina as the party's official spokesman.

Sources close to the committee said Thursday that Dahlan was being investigated but declined to say what the Fatah strongman was accused of.

On Saturday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the Palestinian Authority had questioned men who admitted they were hired by Dahlan to start a militia in the West Bank.

Dahlan denied the reports, calling them "false and malicious information."

The investigation committee, he said, was formed by the party in an effort to dispel the "misunderstanding," because the accusations launched against him "abuse the Palestinians."

Tension between Dahlan and President Mahmoud Abbas has increased recently, amid unsubstantiated rumors that the former Fatah leader sought to depose Abbas.

In December, a television station said to be affiliated with Dahlan was shut down, with PA officials saying the station had failed to pay its licensing fees.

Tuesday's meeting in Ramallah was headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, and the committee also discussed efforts to revive the peace process and internal Palestinian issues.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=346215.