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Fatah official accused of planning coup

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas listens to a speech during a Washington visit Sept. 1, 2010.UPI/Kevin Dietsch
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas listens to a speech during a Washington visit Sept. 1, 2010.UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Palestinian officials accused former Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan of planning a coup against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, officials said.

Dahlan was summoned to Ramallah Sunday and questioned concerning the allegations against him and then left for Amman, Jordan, Israel's Channel Ten said Monday.

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Dahlan, a senior member of Fatah's central committee, was suspended from the party until an investigation against him is completed, the television report said.

Associates close to Dahlan denied he had been suspended from the party and said he had initiated the meeting in Ramallah with security officials there, Haaretz reported Tuesday.

Abbas recently ordered that the security detail guarding Dahlan's Ramallah home and office be removed because he spends more time abroad. Abbas also ordered the closure of a television station owned by Dahlan that was due to go on the air next month, the Israeli daily said.

The Palestinian president's actions stem from Dahlan's harsh criticism against the current Palestinian leadership, the newspaper said.

Dahlan, in an interview on the Dubai-based al-Arabiya network, denied the charges against him and said "the accusation that I conspired against Abu Mazen [Abbas], is inconceivable."

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