ABU MAHER TO RETURN, CLAIM FATAH NUMBER TWO SPOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001285

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT
STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KPAL KWBG IS
SUBJECT: ABU MAHER TO RETURN, CLAIM FATAH NUMBER TWO SPOT

Classified By: Deputy Principal Officer Greg Marchese
for reasons 1.4 (b,d).

Summary
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1. (C) Summary. Fatah official Mohammed Rateb Ghneim (Abu
Maher) is expected to arrive in the West Bank July 29,
following decades in the Palestinian diaspora. Upon his
return, which Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abu Mazen
personally negotiated, Abu Maher will effectively become the
number-two in the Fatah Party, and a potential successor.
While his presence at the upcoming Fatah Sixth Party Congress
is intended to strengthen Abu Mazen's hand, Abu Maher is
generally expected to play a passive role in Fatah internal
politics, and is unlikely to assume governmental office. End
Summary.

Abu Maher to Return, Assume Number Two Spot in Fatah
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2. (C) Fatah Central Committee (FCC) official and founding
member Abu Maher told Fatah colleagues this weekend that he
intended to travel to the West Bank prior to the opening of
the Sixth Party Congress on August 4. In remarks to members
of the overall preparatory committee tasked with planning the
Congress (which he heads),Abu Maher said that Israeli
authorities had approved his travel permit and residency
status, and that he expected to arrive in Ramallah before
July 30 and re-establish permanent residence in the West
Bank.


3. (C) Fatah official Ahmed Abdul Rahman told Post that Abu
Maher's presence at the Congress was intended to consolidate
Abu Mazen's position within the FCC, especially in the event
that Gaza-based delegates could not attend the conference.
Other Fatah contacts said it was widely rumored that Abu
Mazen -- who will escort Abu Maher from Amman to Ramallah --
facilitated Abu Maher's return in order to to dislodge Abu
Ala'a from his spot as Abbas's number two and putative
successor.

Not Clear Whether Abu Maher Will Seek Government Office
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4. (C) It is not clear what role, outside that of senior
Fatah statesman, Abu Maher will play upon his return, those
contacts said. Due to his lengthy absence, he is largely
unknown to younger Fatah members and to the general public.
His age (73) and status as a founding member of Fatah makes
him a possible but unlikely successor to Abbas. Two of his
sons hold positions in the PA government. The elder, Maher,
was appointed Minister without Portfolio in 2009. But Abu
Maher is not personally close to Prime Minister Salaam
Fayyad, nor expected to seek an active role in PA politics,
according to al-Ayyam editor and Abu Mazen confidante Akram
Haniya. Abu Maher is widely believed to have differed from
Abbas on a number of policy issues since the two first met in
Syria in the late 1960s or 1970s, not least over Oslo (para
4). However, Abu Mazen has made a concerted effort to
improve the relationship in recent months, Haniya said.

Biography and Political Orientation
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5. (C) As a young man Abu Maher flirted with the Muslim
Brotherhood, according to press and other sources, before
allying himself in 1958-59 with Fatah's founders. He worked
as a recruiter and mobilizer during the 1960s and 70s in
Jordan and Syria. In 1972, the Third Party Congress
appointed him a member of the FCC. In 1982, the Fourth Party
Congress confirmed his FCC membership. He continued to work
as a Fatah organizer in Lebanon until his move to Tunis in
the mid-1990s. Abu Maher is believed to have opposed the
1993 Oslo Accords; he refused at the time of their signing to
return from exile and live in "occupied territory." However,
he did not publicly reject the position of his party
leadership.
WALLES