Gaza's Fatah to restructure leadership

Fatah is slated for leadership changes in the Gaza Strip, with Nabil Shaath, the movement's head of organisation and mobilisation, possibly being replaced, senior Fatah leader Yahia Rabbah said on Tuesday. A high-level Fatah source in Gaza has revealed that Shaath, who is a member of the movement's central committee, has decided to formally resign from his post in the Gaza Strip within the next few hours. The source, who wished to remain anonymous, told the local al-Resala newspaper Tuesday that Shaath has told people close to him of his intention to resign due to "activities abroad" that have been taking up much of his time. Rabbah told journalists Tuesday the replacement was "possible" and that change is "normal." He added that the leadership changes in Gaza have been talked about for a while with an eye to adding the various leadership bodies to the leadership structure. A partial reshuffle has taken place with Ahmed Nasr's appointment for the leadership committee's secretariat. "There will also be more extensive leadership changes in the coming period," the Fatah official said. In related developments, Arabstoday has learnt that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has recently met with senior Fatah leader Ahmed hales to discuss organisational matters within the movement. He has also met with the secretariat of the leadership committee, Ahmed Nasr, and charged the central committee with looking into restructuring and expanding the leadership committee. Rabbah said the officials who will be added to the leadership structure will be experienced former members of these committees. "We're not going to bring in people from the moon." The Fatah official said the reasons behind the restructuring include the need for Fatah to make room for more of its members "the angry ones as well as the happy," especially as "we will be facing a new phase and the movement should be at its best, internally."