TUNIS, Tunisia, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Fatah chief Farouk Kaddoumi said the group's leader in the West Bank, Marwan Barghouti, by deciding to seek the presidency of the Palestinian Authority.
"Whoever resists deliberately the decisions of Fatah's Central Committee is considered to be resigning regardless of his post and rank and his membership will be eventually eliminated by the committee," Kaddoumi told a press conference late Sunday.
Fatah nominated Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Mahmoud Abbas as his sole candidate in the election to select a successor to Yasser Arafat who died in a Paris hospital last month.
Kaddoumi, who succeeded Arafat as the head of Fatah, the Palestine Liberation Organization's mainstream movement, underscored the need to close ranks within the group.
He played down any impact on Fatah's unity as a result of Barghouti's decision to run as an independent candidate.
Barghouti, who is serving a life sentence in Israel, submitted his candidacy at the last minute, reversing an earlier decision to back Abbas for president.
