Fatah, the dominant party in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and which controls the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, held its sixth general conference in Bethlehem over August 4-6.
It was the first such conference for 20 years. Much has changed since Fatah's fifth conference in 1989 in Tunis, where Yassir Arafat and other Fatah leaders lived in exile.
Inside Palestine, Fatah members were among the main cadre of the popular intifada (uprising) that began in 1987. The conference dealt with urgent questions at a crossroads for the Palestinian struggle.
Since then, Fatah led the PLO (a coalition of 13 Palestinian parties) into a series of agreements with the Israeli government, which started with the Oslo accord of 1993.
These agreements involved Fatah dropping its historic demand for a democratic, secular state based on equality between all races and religions over historic Palestine in return for negotiations towards an independent Palestinian state based on the West Bank and Gaza, which have been occupied by Israel since 1967.
The Israeli state, formed in 1948 on the dispossession of 800,000 Palestinians, covers 78% of Palestine. The West Bank and Gaza, geographically separated, amount to 22%, although this is constantly decreasing with the expansion of illegal Israeli Jewish-only settlements in the West Bank.
Fatah's compromises were strongly contested by other sections of the Palestinian resistance. It gave away some of the most burning Palestinian demands — such as the right of Palestinian refugees expelled when Israel was formed to return to their land — for the promise of an eventual independent state in the West Bank and Gaza.
Israel, however, used these agreements to strengthen its hold over the West Bank and Gaza. A recent report showed that the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank has passed 500,000 for the first time and is rising faster than ever.
From the formation of the PA in 1994 until 2006, it was dominated by Fatah. Its rule was widely criticised by Palestinians for abandoning armed resistance to Israel's occupation and for huge corruption.
Dissatisfaction resulted in Hamas winning the 2006 PA elections. However, Fatah, together with Israel and the United States, refused to recognise the results. This led to a mass uprising against the PA's police force and armed clashes between Fatah and Hamas forces.
Fatah succeeded in retaining its control over the PA in the West Bank, with Israel's assistance, while Hamas was able to impose the electorate's choice and win control in Gaza.
The struggles with Hamas and the brutality of Israel's occupation fractured Fatah.
Some sections called for a recommitment to armed resistance. Other emerging leaders, who gained significant followings during the second intifada that began in 2000, were incarcerated by Israel (such as Marwan Barghouti), or sidelined by current president Mahmoud Abbas (such as Zakaria Zubeidi, one of the leaders of the heroic resistance in the Jenin refugee camp during the April 2002 Israeli massacre).
Against this backdrop, Fatah's conference took place amid much criticism, internal and external. More than 2000 delegates attended.
Some leaders of the internal opposition (such as Zubeidi) got to Bethlehem only to find out they were not registered as delegates and were prevented from entering the venue.
Before the conference, Mazin Qumsiyeh from Ma'an News Agency said although some of the long-time activist members of Fatah were unable to make the conference as they were either underground or abroad, Israel allowed many other Fatah members to enter Bethlehem.
He said Israel "even facilitated a few to come from Gaza across the Green Line to the consternation of Hamas, which wanted Fatah to release its political prisoners from West Bank jails before allowing Fatah officials from Gaza to travel to Bethlehem".
The conference speeches and resolutions included very mixed rhetoric. While Fatah reiterated its right of resistance, Abbas distanced Fatah from armed resistance
This rhetoric was criticised by many. Zuheir Andreus, editor of Ma-Alhadat newspaper, wrote in Ynet, a major Hebrew-language Israeli corporate news website: "And so, 44 years after the revolution began, the armed struggle is being delegitimised.
"The Palestinian revolution, which appeared as a loud blast, is becoming a 'friend' of the occupation, and the Fatah movement which suffers from grave chronic illnesses, is changing its skin and morphing into a corrupt ruling party, alienated from the people, in the style of ruling parties in the vein of ruling parties in the democtatorial Arab world."
Andreus called for a drastic renewal of the Fatah leadership in its internal elections, which included electing the president and members of its two central leadership bodies, the central committee and the revolutionary council.
Abbas ran uncontested and regained the presidency. Conference delegates voted for 18 of the 23 members of the central committee (four are appointed by the elected members, and one is reserved for the chairperson, Abbas) to mixed results.
The main upset was the defeat of Ahmad Quriea, a central figure in Fatah and the main conference organiser. Other old-guard Fatah members secured their seat on the committee, such as former PA head of security Jibril Rajoub and Saeb Erekat, who lead many of Fatah's negotiations with Israel.
Other winners included popular jailed leader Marwan Barghouti and former head of security in Gaza Muhammad Dahlan, who has been highly criticised outside Fatah for his cooperation with Israel.
Delegates also voted in 80 out of the 120 members of the Revolutionary Council (the other 40 were appointed), but results are yet to be published.
Despite Fatah's willing collaboration with Israel, its refusal to signal total capitulation by officially renouncing the right to armed struggle caused the Israeli government to condemn the conference.
Israel claimed the conference showed there were still "no willing Palestinian partners" for peace.
While Israel demanded a total surrender by a leading party of a people it subjects to dispossession and occupation, Human Rights Watch accused Israel on August 13 of killing Palestinian civilians, including women and children, waving white flags during its December-January war on Gaza. More than 1300 Palestinian civilians were slaughtered in the conflict, including hundreds of children.