Fatah members condemned presence of US consul in Palestinian Central Council meeting

The US consul's participation in the opening session of the Palestinian Central Council (PCC) has sparked a major split among Fatah leaders who considered this step a dangerous reverse in the Palestinian Authority's decision to halt ties with the US.

Member of the Fatah Council, Hatem Abdulqader, said that inviting the US consul to attend the meeting is an insult to the Palestinian people and puts a big question mark on the decisions that will be issued by the PCC.

Abdulqader said that this invitation represents a grave collapse in the national constants, expressing concern that the Palestinian Authority may resume its contacts with the US in disregard for the Palestinian people's rejection of the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Secretaries of Fatah movement in the West Bank on Sunday boycotted the opening session of the PCC because the US consul in Jerusalem was present there.

Fatah secretary in Nablus, Jihad Ramadan, said that the decision was made following consultations between Fatah secretaries in different provinces, while the member of Fatah's Central Committee, Jamal Muheisen, expressed his complete rejection of the US consul's participation.