Fateh's Sixth Conference continued for the fifth day, with numerous flare-ups between members squabbling over old and new party disputes. As of August 7, elections for both the movement's Central Committee and Revolutionary Council were slated for the next few days, with Gaza delegates voting via mobile phone.

The Conference, the first in 20 years, is being held in Bethlehem with the participation of 4,000 guests from the movement. Bethlehem is well prepared, deploying 4,200 security men throughout the city, cordoning off all the roads leading to the conference hall itself.

The security measures could not, however, quiet the internal rumblings. On the first day of the conference, August 4, President Mahmoud Abbas gave a 46-page speech outlining the achievements of the revolution and Fateh. He told stories of the "early days" and offered anecdotes about late President Yasser Arafat. He also said that, "Although we have chosen peace, we maintain the right to armed resistance, which is legitimate as far as international law is concerned."

He did not, however, provide a financial report for the movement, something sharply criticized by many conference attendees.

Abbas supporters defended the president by saying his speech was an alternative to the financial and administrative report supposedly to be submitted by the Central Committee. Head of the Jerusalem affairs committee in the movement, Hatem Abdel Qader, however, was unhappy with the move, saying the speech, which did not outline the financial affairs of Fateh, could not be considered as an alternative.

Abdel Qader also expressed his dissatisfaction with the many Central Committee members who said they wanted to re-nominate themselves as members, claiming this gave no room for the new generation.

This has been a sore spot from the start, with new guard Fateh members accusing the old guard of dominating the conference, even clandestinely adding more old guard names to the list of attendees at the last minute.

Meanwhile, Fateh delegates from Gaza were banned by Hamas from leaving the Strip to travel to Bethlehem. Negotiations had been ongoing for weeks prior to the conference to allow Fateh members to leave Gaza, with Hamas saying it would only allow them to travel if the PA halts the political arrests of Hamas members in the West Bank. In the end, they were banned and have been following the conference from afar. On August 7, the Central Committee announced that Gazan delegates would vote via phone, in the elections after which Mohammed Dahlan, a Gaza native, said he would nominate himself. He had earlier said he would pull out of the elections in protest of Gaza members' lack of participation.

President Abbas launched stinging criticism against Hamas on the first day of the conference, calling them "The Princes of Darkness who are dividing the homeland and the people and harming democracy, by preventing Fatah members from joining the conference."

As it stands, Central Committee nominees include prominent Fateh members such as Intisar Wazir (Um Jihad), Tawfiq Tirawi, Marwan Barghouti, Mohmmed Dahlan and Jibril Rjoub. There are 17 seats open in addition to that of the President.

The conference, which was supposedly to end in three days, has been extended, possibly until August 11. Eighteen committees were set up to discuss issues pertaining to the movement, namely the movement's activities and financial standings.

Consequently, as deliberations continued over the role of Fateh and the PLO in Bethlehem, the Palestinians laid to rest one of their most prominent veterans. PLO founding member Shafiq Al Hout died earlier this week and buried in Beirut on August 3. Al Hout, who was battling illness for some time, was also a member of the Palestine National Council and PLO long-running representative in Lebanon.

As Fateh continues to talk out their differences, Jerusalem has remained in the spotlight this week. On August 2, the Hanoun and Ghawi families, comprised of 55 people, were evicted from their two homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the city after a long battle in the Israel High Court against Jewish settlers. The two families were thrown out of their homes in the early morning hours while settler families moved in on the same day. The settlers, who plan to build 250 houses in the same area, claim they have ownership deeds to the homes dating back to the Ottoman rule over Palestine.

The evictions prompted sharp condemnation from the Palestinians, Arabs and world leaders. On August 3, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the evictions "deeply regrettable and not in keeping with Israeli obligations." Washington later summoned Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren to the State Department to protest the evictions.

The EU, Norway, France and several other countries also condemned the move, saying it was in contravention with international law. However, the two families slept outside on the pavement surrounded by their strewn belongings. "I watched as the settlers moved into my house and I could not go in," said Maher Hanoun, one of the evictees after sleeping on the street right outside his home.

Also in Jerusalem, on August 5, Israeli authorities issued 17 new home demolition orders to Palestinian residents of the Bustan neighborhood of Silwan. One home demolition order was also issued in the Jenin area.

Meanwhile, the United States and Israel continue talks over a settlement freeze. On August 6, Washington called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to freeze settlements for one year if the latter wanted US President Barak Obama to guarantee Arab steps towards normalization.

Israel has so far not accepted the plan, saying it needed to smooth out the details first. On August 5, US Middle East envoy George Mitchell met with Netanyahu to request the one-year settlement freeze. Sources said Israel would commit only to suspending construction in settlements for six months, at most.

According to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Washington will present a new Middle East peace plan in the near future, including agreements with Syria and Lebanon.

Palestinians are also saying the American administration wants to deal with the issue of borders first off once negotiations between the two sides are resumed. They said the US believe final status issues such as Jerusalem, borders and refugees must be addressed from the start within a period of a year and a half.

Finally, 20-year old Khaled Abu Athra died, two others were wounded and three remain missing when a tunnel in the Rafah area collapsed over them. This brings the number of Palestinians who have died in tunnel accidents in Gaza to 11 over the past two weeks.