Fatah-Affiliated Group Loses University Election, Suggesting Public Dissatisfaction with PA
The Hamas-linked Islamic Allegiance Bloc won the student council elections at An-Najah National University in Nablus, indicating waning popularity for Fatah and dissatisfaction with the Palestinian Authority’s leadership
Tuesday night brought yet another indication of Fatah’s rapidly sinking popularity. Although the party controls the West Bank, the Fatah-affiliated Student Youth Movement lost the student council elections at An-Najah National University in the northern West Bank to the Hamas-affiliated Islamic Allegiance Bloc.
Fatah’s Student Youth Movement won only 38 seats while Hamas’ Islamic Allegiance Bloc won 40. With 22,000 students enrolled at the university, 67% of those eligible to vote participated in the elections. The elections were the school’s first since 2017.
This great victory affirms our people’s clear stance and their strong support for the escalating resistance option to reclaim our land, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa
In a statement, the Islamic Allegiance Bloc declared their victory.
“This great victory affirms our people’s clear stance and their strong support for the escalating resistance option to reclaim our land, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa. We extend our blessings to every resistance fighter and those on guard. Congratulations to every battalion and company. We honor every martyr, prisoner, and wounded mother,” the statement read.
Elections at Palestinian universities garner close attention from the Palestinian public. Many observers view Tuesday’s elections as indicative of the Palestinian political climate, suggesting dissatisfaction with the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas.
Shabiba, the Fatah group on campus, attempted to distance itself from the PA, directing criticism at the leadership in Ramallah. “Their policies are costing us dearly, and we are the ones paying the price,” a member of Shabiba told The Media Line.
Under condition of anonymity, a senior Fatah official told The Media Line that the election results demonstrate a shift in Palestinian politics and serve as a “serious indication” of the state of the party.
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“This outcome accurately reflects what’s happening on the ground,” the official said.
He attributed the poor results to internal party turmoil and the lack of fresh faces within the movement’s leadership, as well as an ongoing teachers’ strike. He said that younger Palestinians were drawn toward Hamas’s “armed approach.”
“Elections in universities mirror the reality of the Palestinian street, especially among the youth, who form the basis of Palestinian public opinion,” he said.
Critics point to Fatah’s poor political leadership, crackdown on political opponents, lack of democratic institutions, and widespread corruption, as well as the PA’s struggling economy, as sources of their dissatisfaction with Fatah.
“The victory of the Hamas-aligned student list reflects the mood on the Palestinian street and their dissatisfaction with the behavior and approach of the PA,” Ramallah-based political analyst Esmat Mansour told The Media Line.”
He added that escalating tension and violence in the northern West Bank, along with daily incursions by Israeli forces, have fostered negative views of the PA and Fatah, which are often seen as one entity.
“The recurring events in Nablus, targeted by the occupation army for nearly two years, with near-daily confrontations and a significant number of martyrs, have furthered the activity of the Hamas movement in the city,” Mansour said. He also attributed Fatah’s declining popularity to the PA security force’s targeting of activists.
“Fatah’s situation is in continuous deterioration because those in power have pushed away all the fighters from the Fatah movement,” Mansour said. He pointed to Fatah’s conflict with Palestinian activist Marwan Barghouti, who led Tanzim, a paramilitary offshoot of Fatah. Barghouti has criticized Fatah for corruption and at one point formed his own party.
“Those who used to resonate with the street have been replaced by individuals disconnected from the movement’s history and rejected by the public,” Mansour said.
According to a study conducted in March by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 82% of Palestinians think that there is corruption within PA institutions. The same poll indicated that 63% view the PA as a burden on the Palestinian people, with 78% wanting Abbas to resign.
The poll found that Fatah has continued to fall in popularity in both the West Bank and Gaza, with a more pronounced decline in Gaza.
There has been a recent surge of popularity in the West Bank for Hamas, the second-largest Palestinian party and the ruling party in Gaza, and for Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Their newfound popularity, which is mostly due to the groups’ ideological stances, is a cause for concern for Fatah.
The institutions of the PA are ineffective and unproductive, primarily serving the elite linked to power, not the average citizen
US-based Palestinian affairs expert Hasan Awwad told The Media Line that the outcome of the student council election did not surprise him, given the high level of resentment towards the PA and Abbas.
The results sent the message that “Hamas’ popularity is still strong in the large cities,” Awwad said.
He attributed the poor results for the Fatah-affiliated group to the PA’s failure to restore confidence.
“The institutions of the PA are ineffective and unproductive, primarily serving the elite linked to power, not the average citizen,” he said.
