The 'hidden agenda' behind Dalhan’s dismissal

Mohammad Dahlan was dismissed from Fatah on Sunday by the Central Committee London - Arabstoday Statement from Mohamed Dahlan to Arabstoday: For more than six months, a desperate political campaign supported by its media machinery has been trying to undermine me and my  reputation, while I continue to encounter this campaign armed only with the honorable moralities, the ethics of the warriors, and the patience of a faithful man.
Despite my early detection of the inferiority of those who stand behind such a tendentious campaign, which comes in the same context of the previously instigated cowardly campaign by Hamas inside and outside Gaza, shared by some countries which are rushing to impose custody over the Palestinian cause, I expected, however wrongly, that they would merely be a small group of spiteful people who seek to harm our great movement and the history of our glorious people.
It came with no surprise that such pretentious hordes who claim patriotism and revolutionary honor are in fact joining Hamas's machinery in the same battle waged against Mohammad Dahlan, while they are unfortunately hiding behind a fake good-governance of the Muqata'a in Ramallah.
Since the beginning of the attacks against me, I have shown full commitment to attend, to testify, and to answer the various queries made by the committees, which were formed upon the President's desire, and which have been changing from a hearing committee to an investigation committee. My commitment was derived from my confidence in the righteous position I represent, and my deep belonging to the movement. Yet, these committees lacked any specific charges; members of these committees had to wait until the President provides them with new justifications to endorse the procedures. He even sought the assistance of a special team, saving no effort to dig and search desperately for whatever could be used as an accusation, or perceived as an abuse.
Needless to say, he did not, and will not achieve what he is planning for since it is entirely based on false claims. The President did not even wait until the results of the investigations are revealed. He took some unmerited measures and decisions against me, taking advantage of his position and authorities, in an obvious contravention of the laws and regulations which should be fully taken into consideration when dealing with an elected member of both the Central Committee and the PLC.
Two more elements contributed to my decisive decision not to start a counter escalation; the timing of this "fabricated" case, which comes at the same time of the "political battle" launched by Netanyahu's government against the Palestinian national project, and our "internal battle to end the division".
But it seems that the real issue exceed just deceitful reports by some inferior haters; there is a hidden purpose and a true intention by the President of Fatah, to exclude Mohammad Dahlan at any given price and by any possible way, thinking mistakenly, and based on his advisors' illusions, that this battle will strengthen him against the current comprehensive political vacuum. It is based on the assumption that Mohammad Dahlan will be in a weak position, and thus the chance will be favorable to present him as the "scapegoat" for all the mistakes and all the political, organizational and financial crimes that have been committed under the President's "wise" administration, as a prelude step to settle his accounts with Fatah movement and its loyal men.
It seems, however, that the group of malevolent "consultants" who hate Fatah and its unity have ignored the irrefutable fact that any "internal disagreement" inside Fatah, regardless of its nature and type, would not become a factor of strength to anybody, but would contribute to the eruption of the reality; a reality that is subject to collapse any moment.
And if these haters do not heed our national destiny, our wise people should have paid attention to the plans of those who seek to harm to our movement and our national program. There is a lot of evidence driven from the Israeli media, and that of Hamas, which represent parts of a horrifying chain of programmed conspiracy against our national movement.
The unfair and unpatriotic campaign against me continued, but I maintained self-constrained and patient, while watching fabricated reports being published against me and unethical practices executed against my house, my office, my staff, and all those who were "suspected to be" my friends. My Fellow Members, I was definitely ready to practice more silence and more patience in facing these fabricated campaigns for the sake of Fatah and its martyrs, its prisoners in Israeli jails and prisons of Hamas, and for the sake of its liberation project, and for the sake of its members and its supporters, but they have reached the peak, and the farces can no longer be tolerated. The last of these was the reprehensible request of President Abu Mazen, during the recent meeting of the Central Committee, to investigate with me regarding what became known as the "fabricated and false" arms case to Libya. Now, only idiots can find excuses to ignore this plan led personally by President Abbas, to exclude Mohammad Dahlan, and no wise man can ignore the fact that it does clearly overlap with Hamas's plans for years.
No doubt, too, that regrettably, some senior officials have been involved in this dirty game, thinking that this will help them keep their minor personal interests. I happen to know them very well through their scandalous and dreadful files.
One of the world wonders these days, is that the President's "satisfaction" became the sole decisive factor for honor and integrity; those who please the President and thus gain his satisfaction, suddenly became symbols of honor, transparency and integrity, while in fact they are way far from being so. The approval of some of you to issue a statement on behalf of the movement in a case fabricated against me, such as the matter of weapons to Libya, is shameful, and the claim of others not to have known about the statement and the ignorance of its existence, is also unpardonable. The statement made by Fatah's spokesperson that "a committee will be formed to investigate the accusations made against Dahlan" is a premeditated and reprehensible matter, especially given that this pathetic spokesperson based his statement on a "report" prepared by a Libyan opponent who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, and was published by an Algerian journalist of the same political affiliation, who was previously working in an economic company owned by member of Hamas leaders in Algeria, and finally published by Al Jazeera.
As you know, I have issued a statement disclosing the "weapons game" and have discussed all related details publicly, and have openly challenged all those involved in this cheap myth both inside and outside, to bring any direct or indirect evidence that would lead to my conviction. Today I challenge them again.
What was odd, though, is that various media outlets published my statement with due regard, including Al Jazeera and other Hamas-affiliated outlets, however “Wafa”, the official news agency, declined publishing my statement in a clear indication that what really matters is to continue the deception and delusion to satisfy the President. How shameful was it to have the Algerian report published in Wafa, and how sinful it is to decline mine by the same agency! This is not defective and harmful to the Central Committee members only, but to the reputation of Fatah movement as a whole.
It was astonishing how suddenly Al Jazeera became a reliable source to some influential persons in Fatah and the PA; but is not this the same channel which started the heartless attacks against the Palestinian leadership and President Abbas months ago, accusing them of betrayal and abandonment of Palestinians' inevitable rights when it leaked the official negotiations documents?!! Or do things take a different approach when it is related to Mohammad Dahlan?!!! Was there a secret deal that pushed the President to issue over-night decrees, one to disallow discussions about Qatar and its Prince, regardless of his accusations to Abbas and his animosity against Fatah, and another one to stop the already-non-existent media campaigns against Hamas!!! Should not the President have issued a decree to stop the outrageous and deceitful media campaigns against me, as an elected member of Fatah central committee and member of the PLC, provided that most of it is coming from his own office?! Or have we became hard-liners against each other, and merciful with our enemies!!! Have hatred and resentment blinded their eyes and hearts, to the point where they cannot distinguish between friends and foes!!! All the details of how the President and his team have been operating, leave no room for doubt that the issue has became utterly "personal", and what they are looking for is to merely accuse me in any way possible, for reasons I do not know until this very moment. What is definite, though, is that should they succeed in their plan, the President would thus have the upper hand in the Authority, and would have full monopoly of the decisions as he may wish. My Fellow Members, I am a member of this leading structure, and became as such by democratic elections and not otherwise, in spite of all the incitements before the historical 6th Conference, to which I went overloaded with intolerable accusations that even mountains cannot bear; accusations established and successfully promoted by Hamas with the support of some malevolent persons. Nonetheless, the answer came loud and clear, rightful and honorable, and I was elected as member of the Central Committee, while at that very same time the leadership was avoiding meeting its historical responsibilities towards the files that were opened during the Conference.
Unfortunately, the accusations then promoted by Hamas did not differ from those promoted now by the President and his group against me; evidently the results of the 6th Conference came as disappointment for some people, so they are planning to topple it. My Fellow Members, if mentioning the President's sons in any context is perceived to be an accusation that is worth launching such a vicious campaign of distortion, and forming open committees with no specific timeframe or agenda, then it is more worthy that we investigate the following matters:
The Palestinian Investment Fund, which President Abbas took charge of in the wake of the martyrdom of our late leader Arafat, and which contained internal and external investments, and cash and in-kind assets with an estimated value of 1 billion and 300.62 million USD, allocated by late Arafat to secure the future of the PA in cases of emergency. The assets of the PIF, registered under the PLO and the PNA, has been manipulated, and neither the Executive Committee, or the Central Committee or even the Government, has any association with the PIF and its operations, which are subject to financial abuses that would surprise those who claim transparency and accountability.  
Fatah's financial assets became a black-box that the President refuses to inform the Central Committee about. He also declined the request of the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council, to conduct an accurate inventory process of all funds and assets, and to establish a single-reference for it. However, it came to the knowledge of the members of the 6th Conference (through whispers here and there) that the amount of this fund exceeded 250 million USD in cash, and another 350 million USD were distributed in an unlimited way outside. We are still awaiting the presentation of the financial report after a delay of 20 years, and given that we are now approaching almost two years after the end of the 6th Conference, but as Central Committee members, we have no clear idea about the fund of the movement.
1. Losing Gaza, followed by neglecting and ignoring Gaza and its people, and the absence of any strategic vision or plan regarding Gaza for four years. The individualistic attitude of the President and his unilateral decisions are what caused us to lose Gaza;
- Insisting on conducting legislative elections, notwithstanding the Movement's decision which considered the national circumstances and Fatah's position to be unprepared.
- His failure to recognize the importance of obliging those who run for elections to commit to the political agreements signed by the PLO further complicated the situation and forced him to establish a government without a political base.
- Permitting Hamas to establish the first Executive Force under their full control.
- Directing a big part of equipments, materials, and arms to the Presidential Guards, and then ejecting them from the battle, and linking this to a previous declaration he made two days before the coup, in which he claimed that "he could not blame one side over the other, and that he appeals to both sides to end the fighting."
2. The defeats suffered by Fatah in the municipal and legislative elections, which until this moment have not been reversed.
3. The integrity of the procedures and decisions unjustly taken by the President against me, using his powers in disreputable contradiction with the norms and traditions that must be respected when dealing with an elected member of the Central Committee and of the Legislative Council.
4. Fatah has lost its identity of real struggling and its warrior spirit during President Abbas's era.
5. Postponing the follow-up of the Goldstone report, and the consequential scandals that followed this decision. My Fellow Members, given that the issue has become more of a "personal battle" against Mohammad Dahlan, and due to my sincere desire to refrain the movement and its institutions from getting involved in, or being negatively affected by such a dirty game, and in order to block the way of those whose sick minds allow them to carry on with this campaign of disinformation and distortion, while falsely thinking that the circumstances may be appropriate to eliminate Mohammad Dahlan, I therefore call upon the commanding framework of the movement to put an end to this farce by forming a national committee that includes national figures (independent and factional) known and recognized for their integrity, to disclose all the facts to the public. I am personally fully ready to cooperate with them at the highest levels of seriousness and sincerity, and to provide them with all the files and documents that I have in my possession.
It is about time to expose the hidden facts, and to prohibit those who wish to use Mohammad Dahlan as a "scarecrow" to achieve their political investments or national targeting, for I will not at all tolerate those spiteful people or allow them to achieve their personal or political desires regardless of what covers they use to hide their real intentions.
I will fully maintain my right to employ all available ethical means, to hold accountable those who insulted me. Our movement must not be converted to a tool utilized by some to "sort personal accounts," neither must it be used to initiate campaigns of hatred and outrage. And for those who disregard the regulations and internal system of the Movement, I wish to remind them that all members of Fatah, regardless of their ranking and organizational hierarchy, are equal in rights and obligations, and freedom to criticize and question any member no matter how senior, is guaranteed in front of the competent bodies.
Finally, I promise you all in our Movement, at both the base and the framework levels, that I will continue to be a power to reinforce our movement, and a national lever and to work to disclose all the lies, deception, and hypocrisy, and to continue resisting hatred, and facing the enemies of our unity and our national project.
I can only bow with respect, and extend the most honorable means of admiration to all members of the movement in general, and to the members of the 6th Conference in particular, for having placed their confidence in me. And I tell them that they are my only consolation, and they have the right to know the full truth without lies and hypocrisy, and that the environment of hatred and envy became a true barrier facing our ability to reach the hoped leading performance.
They must also realize that I have subjected myself to the rules and regulations of the Movement and committed myself to the Movement and its future and destiny. I have remained faithful to the covenant I made with them and given away all I have to achieve it tirelessly. And I reassure you all, that no force on earth can succeed in paralyzing our energy or in driving us away from our goal to achieve our national causes of liberty, right of return, self determination under an independent, integrated state, with Jerusalem as its capital.  My fellow Members of the Central Committee, I do hope that you would take the responsibility needed to preserve the remaining hope for the sons of Fatah movement, within this leading framework, and that you would consult your consciousness to establish and enhance the principles of justice and equality, and reinforce the values and moralities system, which represents the safety valve and the movement's compass to remain a beacon and a leading model able to face the challenges and to meet national responsibilities.
Finally, the wise is he who learns lessons from others' tragedies, and the sane observer to what is happening around us can only draw lessons and significances, of which the most important is the fact that power is transient and does not last forever, and once it is lost, the strongest rulers and their children and grandchildren, become hunted by hatred and by the people.
 
“And it is a revolution until victory,” Our slogan, which we have almost forgotten in the era of President Abu Mazen.   Sincerely,
  Mohammad Dahlan