The five-day congress – the first to be held by the party since 2009 – was held on November 28/29 and attended by over 1,300 Fatah delegates. There were also 60 international guests from 28 different countries, including China, India, Sudan, Chile and Germany.
President Mahmoud Abbas was re-elected unanimously as Chair of Fatah and the congress elected Fatah’s 23-member Central Committee and its 132-member Revolutionary Council.
Imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouthi was elected to the Central Committee with the highest vote of any candidate.
Addressing the conference on the ‘International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People’, Martina Anderson conveyed the solidarity of Sinn Féin and the Irish people to the people of Palestine. She highlighted the shared struggle for freedom and nationhood.
Martina, who is Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Palestine, also stressed the importance of Palestinian unity.
“In any national liberation struggle, division and disunity slices and dices the struggle, damages and weakens it and the people suffer the most,” the Irish MEP told the congress.
“When Palestinians speak with one voice you advance international solidarity with your struggle and your message is heard clearly around the world.
“Sinn Féin will continue to work to build international solidarity and continue to support the Palestinian people.”
[Read the full article in An Phoblacht here].
