The major task of the on-going Palestinian Fatah party's Six General Conference is to make up the main stream Palestinian faction's future strategy, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Xinhua.

The long-awaited general conference of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party started Tuesday in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and extended to Friday, due to "stormy" discussions and argument between the members and internal election requirement.

As a veteran Fatah member and senior leader, Erekat acknowledged the difficulties and hurdles that Fatah is facing up, especially "the coup d'etat and the split in Gaza."

In 2006, Fatah lost the elections for Islamic Hamas movement. In the next year, Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces, seized Gaza and ousted Fatah.

Hamas prevented the Fatah delegates in Gaza from traveling to attend the conference in the West Bank, causing a big confusion among the conferees over Gaza's share in the awaited new central committee and the revolutionary council.

"The reality in Gaza has become a sword over our neck, " Erekat said, adding that "what are we going to do with the region that is going through change in Palestine all over."

Meanwhile, Erekat appreciated all the support from the international community, including "American president who think establishing a Palestinian state is part of the American interest," as well as "the Europeans who are saying that it is time for us to go to UN to define the Palestinian state the boundaries as the 1967 borders."

"What are we going to do with all the support we received from the international community, from China, from Africa, from Latin America, everyone supports the two-state solution, and support the Palestinian people's freedom and liberty," Erekat said, adding that "what we are trying to do in Fatah conference is to define a program, a strategic program for the day after the conference."

At the opening ceremony of the general conference, the chairman of the Palestinian National Authority and the chief of Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, called on his party members to adopt a way of peace resistance against Israel in the future, but the leader stated at the same time that the Palestinians will preserve the right of military resistance.

The conference will also discuss the party's new platform, which will reflect Abbas' call.

Speaking on the long-stalled peace process with Israel, Erekat accused "Israeli government refuse the two-state solution, refuse the agreements signed, continue with settlement activities, they are undermining the two-state solution and the peace process."

The 54-year-old Erekat has been at the center of negotiations with Israel for over a decade and has participated in numerous peace conferences. In 1995, Erekat served as Chief Negotiator for the Palestinians during the Oslo period.

Erekat reiterated that "we are trying to make peace with Israel, by implementing the road map, based on Israel to withdraw to the 1967 borders, and we really want to achieve peace according to Arab peace initiative and what the international community defined as the road map."

However, "if they (Israel) undermine the two-state solution and the peace process, our efforts will be limited to what we're thinking now," Erekat said.

Still, Erekat called on "the international community to have Israel comply with international law, the rule of law, the two state solution, adding that "that's where we are heading."

Source: Xinhua