News reports have lately revealed that a power-sharing conflict between Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas and his Western-backed Prime Minister Salam Faya’d is developing behind the scenes. After forming a caretaker government, which has been in place since Hamas took control of Gaza in June, Faya’d developed an agenda different from that of ‘Abbas and Fatah. According to Tala Okal, a prominent political analyst based in Gaza, Faya’d wants to exploit the current situation in order to build a new party ahead of the next elections. Fearing that such a new party would outpoll Fatah in the next elections, P.A. officials have warned ‘Abbas about Faya’d’s growing power and popularity, especially after restoring stability to the city of Nablus and securing more financial aid from donor countries. Deciding that talks with Israel were futile, Faya’d also became less involved in the recent discussions with the Israeli side. He realized that negotiations at this stage would be no more than brainstorming sessions leading nowhere, Okal explained. Read more from Bassem Roomie… [1]