Abbas to address sea of supporters at Fatah conference

Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas is set to give a speech at the seventh Fatah conference on Wednesday evening, in which he is expected to defend his position on the peace agreement.

Abbas, who was re-elected on Tuesday as leader of Fatah at a conference in Ramallah, is also anticipated to deliver a stinging rebuttal against his opponents, including the exiled Mohammad Dahlan.

The president is expected to deliver his speech at 6:00pm (4pm GMT) before around 1,400 delegates.

In a speech earlier this month, Abbas told a crowd of supporters that he knew who had killed previous Fatah leader, Yasser Arafat, subtly suggesting the involvement of Dahlan.

Fatah officials told reporters at the time that an inquiry into Arafat's death may be established during the course of this conference.

The Fatah leader has grown unpopular among core voters in Palestine, as recent polls suggest that most people want him to resign. The vast majority of the attendees at the conference remain supporters of Abbas however.

The previous Fatah conference in 2009 held 2,000 delegates and there are believed to be fewer in attendance this year, as Fatah has banned all supporters of Mohammad Dahlan.

Much of Abbas’ unpopularity stems from a lack of success in his policy of soft negotiation with Israel.

Many international actors, including the United States and the European Union, believe that his vision of a peace deal is becoming less and less likely, as Israel continues its illegal policy of building settlements in Palestinian areas.

One of the discussions tabled for the seventh conference includes whether or not to bring a resolution to the UN, criticising these settlements.