Arafat’s nephew returns to West Bank after exile, aims to confront corruption in PA

A nephew of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has returned to the West Bank after four years of self-exile, outlining a roadmap to secure peace in Gaza with Hamas transforming into a political party and declaring his readiness to help govern.

Nasser al-Qudwa, a prominent critic of the current Palestinian Authority leadership, also urged “a serious confrontation of corruption in this country.” He says PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party needed deep reform and must do more to counter settler violence in the West Bank.

“The first duty … is to regain confidence of the street — something that we lost — and we have to be brave enough and say that we don’t have it anymore, and without it, frankly, it’s useless,” Qudwa tells Reuters in an interview.

Qudwa left the West Bank in 2021 after he was expelled from Fatah, the movement founded by his uncle, over his decision to field his own list in elections, defying Abbas, who canceled the vote.

Abbas, 89, readmitted Qudwa to Fatah last week, after offering an amnesty for expelled members.