‘Fatah to the bone’: Who is Palestinian official Nasser al-Qudwa?

The dismissal of Nasser al-Qudwa highlights political divisions within the Palestinian party Fatah in upcoming elections

Senior Palestinian official and diplomat Nasser al-Qudwa was sacked from the Fatah political party after his surprise announcement to run a separate list from Fatah in the May 22 legislative elections. His dismissal on March 11 came after a statement issued by Fatah’s Central Committee said it took the decision “in order to preserve the unity of the movement”. The statement also said the ultimatum given to al-Qudwa to retract his intention to run in his new National Democratic Forum list had expired. For his part, the senior official and diplomat responded by saying: “The decision taken by an influential party in the Central Committee raises concern and pity over the state of affairs in the movement, as it does not respect the internal order or the political logic.”