Fatah delegates vote for executive body

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The Palestinian Fatah movement's first conference in 20 years has endorsed the creation of a state alongside Israel. In one of their most important assignments, Fatah members began voting on members for two powerful committees. The results will influence President Mahmoud Abbas's mandate to conduct peace talks with Israel.

Thousands of Fatah members started voting on Sunday afternoon after six days of meetings and discussions in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Hundreds of Fatah delegates gathered outside a hall in a convention center where voting was to take place.

There are some 700 candidates vying for 80 available seats on the revolutionary council, and another 100 for the 18-member central committee.

The makeup of the key committees will also be a powerful indicator of whether the decades-old, flagging movement will be able to present a new face to Palestinians.

Lurking in the background were challenges facing Fatah, such as relations with the rival militant Hamas group, the issue of the elections tentatively set for January, and Fatah's internal splits between young and old, and moderates and militants.