BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) - The Palestinian political party Fatah rejuvenated its leadership at its first congress in 20 years, ousting many of the "old guard" dominant under the late Yasser Arafat, initial results showed on Tuesday.
But electing younger men to the Central Committee, including Marwan Barghouthi who is serving life in an Israeli jail and several security chiefs, will not bring instant change in the ability of Fatah's leader President Mahmoud Abbas to make peace with Israel -- or with Fatah's Islamist nemesis, Hamas.
"This is an unexpected result. It's a big change, a huge change," said Naser al-Kidwa, a nephew of Abbas's charismatic predecessor Arafat who also won a Central Committee seat.
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Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible
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