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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: February 12, 2006 |
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A legislator from the old guard of the defeated Fatah Party was elected Saturday as leader of Fatah's faction in the new Palestinian parliament, party officials said.
The election of Azzam al-Ahmed, a former PLO ambassador to Iraq, was a blow to Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, a member of Fatah's young guard, who had also sought the post.
Members of Fatah's young guards have been trying to oust the veteran party leaders, who have largely refused to step aside. Dahlan is widely believed to be seeking the leadership of Fatah, and some say he considers himself an eventual successor to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Fatah was defeated in last month's parliament election by the Islamic militant Hamas. Fatah controls 45 seats in the 132-member parliament, compared to 74 for Hamas.
Thirty-eight Fatah legislators participated in Saturday's vote, which was held at Abbas' office in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Saturday, said Fatah lawmaker Shami Shami.
Al-Ahmed won 20 votes, compared to 17 for Dahlan, with one abstention, Shami said.
Al-Ahmed was loyal to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Among the lawmakers who did not attend was Nasser Juma from the West Bank city of Nablus. Juma, a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoots, said he did not travel to Ramallah for fear of arrest by Israeli troops. |
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