Fatah the position of Fatah Chairman, and continued in the position until 2009, when Mahmoud Abbas was elected Chairman. Since Arafat's death, factionalism within the ideologically diverse movement has become more apparent. In the 2006 election for the PLC, the party lost its majority in the PLC to Hamas. However, the Hamas legislative victory led to a conflict between Fatah and Hamas, with Fatah retaining control of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank through its President. The full name of the movement is حركة التحرير الوطني الفلسطيني "ḥarakat al-taḥrīr al-waṭanī al-Filasṭīnī", meaning the "Palestinian National Liberation Movement". From this
Fatah–Hamas conflict Fatah. When Abbas and Hamas in the struggle for power failed to reach an agreement, Abbas appointed, on 6 April 2006, the Fatah-affiliated Abu Shbak head of the Security Forces, by-passing the Hamas Interior Minister. In response, Hamas formed its own security force. On 25 June 2006, militant groups conducted a cross-border raid into Israel. The Israeli response left Hamas with half its parliamentary bloc and its cabinet ministers in the West Bank in Israeli custody. The semi-constitutional and semi-presidential "Basic Law" gave President and Government a shared political power. Fatah refused to cooperate with Hamas. The powerful Fatah-backed President