Fatah

Fatah

Fataḥ (Arabic: فتح‎ Fatḥ) (also known as Fateh, ) is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a multi-party confederation. Though it is on the left wing of Palestinian politics, its character is primarily nationalist rather than social democratic.

Fatah is generally considered to have had a strong involvement in revolutionary struggle in the past and has maintained a number of militant/terrorist groups,. Fatah had been closely identified with the leadership of its founder Yasser Arafat, until his death in 2004. Since Arafat's departure, factionalism within the ideologically diverse movement has become more apparent.

In the January 25, 2006 parliamentary election, the party lost its majority in the Palestinian parliament to Hamas, and resigned all cabinet positions, instead of assuming the role as the main opposition party. Fatah's size is estimated at 6,000–8,000 fighters with 45–300 politicians. However, the Hamas legislative victory led to a split between the two main Palestinian political parties, with Fatah retaining control of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank. In April 2011, officials from Hamas and Fatah announced that both parties had reached an initial deal to unify into one government, with plans for elections to be held in 2012.