Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, speaks at the Fatah conference in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Photo from DAWN'Stormy' Start To Fatah's Historic Summit -- Christian Science Monitor
Some of the 2,200 delegates expressed outrage at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s account of the party’s past 20 years.
Bethlehem, West Bank - The first Fatah conference in two decades was off on Wednesday to what a senior Palestinian official acknowledged was a "stormy" start as some 2,200 party delegates wrangled over a variety of issues and showed reluctance to accept top-down decisions from the party's elite.
Foremost among these was a directive to accept the 51-page text of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's speech – which he took two hours to deliver at the opening of the conference on Tuesday – as the report of record explaining Fatah's progress to its Central Committee since they last met in 1989.
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More News On Fatah's Summit
Fatah extends stormy conference -- BBC
Palestinian Fatah renews top body in 20-year first -- AFP
Old guard "hijacks" Fatah congress, say reformers -- Reuters
Fatah conferees hold "stormy" talks at second day meeting -- China View
West Bank: Discord at Fatah Meeting -- New York Times
Fatah Squabbles Could Doom Mideast Peace -- Newsweek
Fatah adopts resolution blaming Israel for Arafat's death -- Jerusalem Post
Israeli Ministers enraged over Fatah declaration on Arafat -- Ynet News
My Comment: So much for the peace process moving forward. This (among many other reasons) kills it.