The Fatah party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas has overhauled its leadership following its first election in 20 years.

With nearly all votes counted of this weekend's ballot, the party congress in the West Bank city of Bethlehem returned only three incumbent members of the 21-strong Central Committee. On Saturday, Fatah re-elected Mr Abbas as party leader, a post he has held since the death of Yassir Arafat in 2003.

The results for the Revolutionary Council, the other main governing body of the party, are expected later on Tuesday. The new leadership of the secular movement is facing the task of rebuilding a party weakened by internal divisions and the rise of the Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
 

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