RAMALLAH, West Bank - Gaza's former strongman was not around to rally disorganized Fatah forces when the territory fell to Hamas, but like most other Fatah officials, he refuses to accept personal blame.
In an interview at his closely guarded West Bank office, Mohammed Dahlan suggested he did better than other Fatah leaders, warning early and loudly about Hamas' takeover plot, but was largely ignored. Now, he said, he is at best ready to accept collective responsibility for the debacle in Gaza - a contention that rings hollow to many Palestinians.
From Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on down, no one in Fatah or the security forces has publicly admitted failure. Abbas has promised an official investigation, but he has not named all the members of an inquiry commission yet or given it a clear mandate.
Many warn that a whitewash will hurt Fatah's chances of regaining power.
"Fatah must evaluate and correct its policies," said political analyst Jihad Hamad. "Otherwise it will move from defeat to defeat."
Dahlan, once touted as a possible presidential contender, said he would wait for the findings of the commission before deciding on his political future. He was appointed as Abbas' national security adviser three months ago and serves as a Fatah lawmaker.
Later this week, he will fly to Germany for another month of treatment for his bad knees. Dahlan was being treated in Germany and Egypt during the five crucial days earlier this month when Hamas seized the positions of Abbas-allied forces in Gaza. Even before then, he had spent most of his time in the West Bank city of Ramallah, not his native Gaza.
Fatah's defeat in Gaza has been attributed to the absence of leadership. In contrast, Hamas forces moved systematically under a central command and according to what Palestinian intelligence described as a carefully hatched plan aided by Iran.
Dahlan said Iran gave Hamas $250 million to force out Fatah in Gaza, an allegation repeatedly denied by Hamas leaders. However, Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas hard-liner and former foreign minister, acknowledged earlier this week that he had personally carried $42 million in Iranian cash into Gaza in two trips.
In the post-takeover blame game, many eyes are on Dahlan because he had led the verbal charge against Hamas following its January 2006 election victory, instilling hope in some Fatah activists that the party could somehow regain power.
Dahlan, who has been branded a traitor and infidel by Hamas, was no less vehement in his attacks on the Islamic militants Sunday.
"Hamas is a movement based on the culture of killing and murder," he said, adding that the group has betrayed Palestinian nationalism by espousing a pan-Islamic ideology.
He said he would return to Gaza one day, but not now because he cannot bear to see his home under Hamas rule. In light of repeated death threats, Dahlan is unlikely to return soon.
Dahlan said that if elections were held today, Hamas would fare badly.
"After the people stripped the mask from the brutal face of Hamas and discovered the reality of Hamas, anyone is going to win if he runs against Hamas, not only Fatah," he said.
However, a recent poll indicates that a majority of Palestinians blame both Hamas and Fatah for the bloodshed in Gaza.
The poll found that Fatah would receive 43 percent of the vote in parliament elections - the same result it achieved in March - while Hamas dropped only slightly over three months, from 37 percent to 33 percent. The survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research among 1,270 adults quoted a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
The West Bank is currently ruled by an emergency government that replaced the failed Hamas-Fatah coalition, but Abbas aides have raised the possibility of new elections in coming months.
Fatah's inability to reform itself is one of the main reasons for its failure to surge in popularity. Dahlan said he was skeptical that a long-overdue party conference, in which a new leadership would be chosen, is going to take place anytime soon.
"The salvation for Fatah is to hold the general conference, which I don't believe is going to be held," he said.
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