On the Fath Circus

"In fact, the reality of Fatah's conference was a good deal different to how it was portrayed in many typical western media reports. There was limited acknowledgement of the fact that many Palestinians and Arab commentators were pointing out, as Abdel-Beri Atwan did in Al-Quds al-Arabi on 4 August, that "this is the first time in history that a national liberation movement holds its general conference under the spear of the occupation and with the blessing of its government". Al-Sharq newspaper also noted that the conference was taking place "with Israel's sponsorship, and protection". There was also little explanation in the media coverage about the mechanisms that had both led to the conference and the questionable events during the meeting. The vast majority of the more than 2,000 delegates were handpicked by a group around the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, who had disbanded the elections committee set up to pick attendees." (thanks Ben)