Fatah leaders resign over appointment row

Senior Fatah sources in Gaza confirmed to "Arabstoday" that senior Fatah officials Abdullah Abu Samhadana, Abdullah Yaghi, and Iyad Safi have resigned. Sources stated on conditions of anonymity that Samhadana’s resignation came after Amal Hamad, the second deputy Secretary General to Fatah’s Shura Council replaced expelled member Mohamed Dahlan indicating that Samhadana believed he deserved the appointment. Sources added that Abdullah Yaghi and Iyad Safy also resigned in protest of Hamad’s appointment. The same sources stated that Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas was not legally entitled to appointing or expelling any member in the movement or government without consulting the Fatah leadership in the West Bank and Gaza. Hamad, who also used to be Fatah’s Deputy Commissioner of International Relations, had previously turned down a position in Fatah’s senior leadership committee in the Gaza Strip, which Abu Samhadana chaired.