Report El Fatah in Midst of Internal Struggle; Arafat Seen Losing Influence

El Fatah, the largest Palestinian guerrilla organization, is in the throes of an internal struggle. Its chief, Yassir Arafat, has not been challenged directly but there are clear indications that he is losing influence, according to an assessment by knowledgeable Israeli sources given today to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The behind-the-scenes struggle stems from the guerrillas’ defeat in the Jordanian civil war last September and their failure to form a united front of El Fatah and the dozen or so smaller commando groups. Another factor is the acute shortage of funds and mass desertions from El Fatah’s active squads, the Israeli sources reported. El Fatah’s military branch, Al Assifa, now enjoys greater influence than ever, even in purely political matters that were formerly left to veteran politicians. Al Assifa is headed by Mamduh Saidam and Khalil el Wazir, Saidam, who is about 40, is a native of Gaza where some of his relatives still live. He succeeded Arafat as commander of Assifa late in 1968 when Arafat became more involved in political wrangling with the various Arab states. Saidam uses the alias of Abu Sabri and rarely appears in public. He is backed by most Assifa commanders and by many officers of the Palestine Liberation Army stationed in Syria and Jordan. He and his colleagues now blame El Fatah’s political leaders for the guerrilla defeat in Jordan and have demanded their ouster or punishment.

Unlike the other guerrilla groups which are mostly left-oriented, El Fatah has professed to be apolitical. But Saidam is known to be a rightist. He has criticized the left-wing tendencies of many of the guerrilla political leaders. Among his chief targets are Faruk el Kadumi, head of the Palestine Popular Liberation Organization and Salah Halaf, generally regarded as El Fatah’s number two man after Arafat. Kadumi and Halaf are now in Cairo where they are said to be trying to enlist Egyptian support to prevent a purge in El Fatah’s higher echelons. Arab newspapers have reported the rift, although El Fatah organs do not mention it. A secret guerrilla congress to decide on a purge was to have been held last month but was postponed at the last minute by Arafat. Some observers believe El Fatah’s difficulties stem from the cold shoulder Arafat received from Kremlin leaders when he went to Moscow last year in search of military support. Guerrilla groups are reportedly turning to Peking. The new commando slogan is said to be. “Our only real friend now is Communist China.” Arafat’s failure in Moscow is believed to have taken considerable gloss from his leadership. He spends most of his time away from Jordan, the main El Fatah base and leaves the day-to-day running of the organization to Saidam.