BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- One of the
81 new members elected to the Revolutionary Council of Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party is a Jerusalem-born Jew called Uri Davis, Fatah
sources said on Saturday.
The sources said it is the first time that a Jew
joins the group's highest body since the movement was founded by late leader
Yasser Arafat and his comrades on Jan. 1, 1965.
Davis, who was born in Jerusalem in 1943, ran in the
elections for the Revolutionary Council, the Fatah parliament, which were held
during the Fatah sixth general conference that kicked off in the West Bank city
of Bethlehem on Aug. 4.
The sources said Davis ranked number 31 among the 81
members of the council elected during the 12-day-long Fatah congress, which was
initially slated for three days.
Davis' father is a British Jew and his mother Jewish
as well. His parents arrived in Jerusalem for good in 1935, 13 years before the
creation of the state of Israel.
The Jewish revolutionary council member holds double
nationalities, Israeli and British. H had his education in Israeli schools and
colleges, and then earned masters and PhD degrees in Britain.
Davis recognizes himself as a Palestinian Jew and
describes the state of Israel as a "racist state." He is among those who call
for boycotting Israel and establishing a joint democratic state with the
Palestinians.
In 1984, Davis was nominated by Arafat to be a member
of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), the PLO parliament in exile. The man
rejects Zionism and considers it as a movement that contradicts with humanity.
Davis lives in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where
he got married last year to a Palestinian woman, one of Fatah activists. Myasar
Abu Ali said Davis converted to Islam at their marriage.
The Palestinian Fatah party on Saturday officially
announced the final results of electing its Revolutionary Council members at its
first congress in 20 years.
Eleven women were elected to the council, while most
of the winners belong to the young guard generation, according to the election
results.
About 2,000 Fatah delegates also cast their ballots
at the party congress, the first ever in Palestinian territory, to vote for the
Central Committee, the executive body of the party.