Abbas Urges ‘New Start’ at Fatah Conference

[groovedaddy]

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — The mainstream Palestinian movement Fatah came together here on Tuesday for a landmark three-day gathering, its first in 20 years and its first ever on Palestinian soil.

The opening ceremony was festive and emotional, though the celebratory tone did not dispel the difficult situation Fatah found itself in. It has struggled to recover from a humiliating defeat by Hamas, its Islamic rival, in the 2006 elections and the subsequent loss of Gaza. Fatah continues to be riddled with internal divisions, and many participants said the conference might be the movement’s last chance to revive.

“We have made mistakes,” said Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of Fatah. “Twenty years is too long.” The conference, he said, should be a “platform for a new start.”

About 2,000 delegates from all over the world are attending the conference, at a school near Manger Square. Israel, which controls the West Bank borders and is interested in bolstering the more moderate Palestinian forces, allowed in Fatah members from hostile states like Syria.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/world/middleeast/05fatah.html?th&emc=th