Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief David Zini allegedly met former senior Fatah figure Mohammad Dahlan in the United Arab Emirates, regional and Israeli sources told Kan on Tuesday.
The Shin Bet declined to comment, stating, “We do not comment on the schedules of the service chief.”
Dahlan is a former senior Fatah leader who rose to prominence in Palestinian politics as the first head of the Preventive Security Service. He oversaw the internal intelligence and paramilitary organization, which operates under the Palestinian Interior Ministry, until his resignation in 2002 in protest of delayed political reforms.
During this period, Dahlan established himself as a powerful security figure within the Palestinian Authority and a prominent voice in internal political and security affairs.
Falling out with Abbas leads Dahlan to Abu Dhabi
Dahlan later became a controversial but influential political figure. He was reportedly favored by the Bush administration, with reports suggesting that Washington encouraged Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to appoint Dahlan as his deputy in 2007, though the president viewed Dahlan as a rival.
Dahlan’s political trajectory shifted sharply after he fell out with Abbas in 2011. He left the West Bank and has since lived in exile in Abu Dhabi, where he serves as an adviser to United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed.
Shortly after his departure, the Palestinian Authority convicted Dahlan of multiple serious offenses, including involvement in a poisoning plot against Yasser Arafat, an attempted coup against the Palestinian leadership, and embezzlement. Dahlan denied these accusations as “fantastical” at the time in an interview with BBC News.
Analysts have long speculated Abbas’s vision for succession involved the 90-year-old’s son, Yasser Abbas, taking his place, despite allegations of corruption.
Dahlan criticizes Fatah, Hamas corruption
Dahlan has consistently criticized corruption in both Fatah and Hamas. After Hamas won the 2006 elections, he described its members as “murderers and thieves” and fought during the ensuing power struggle that took over the territory.
Over time, however, his stance toward Hamas appeared to shift. By 2017, relations had improved enough that he participated by video link in a Hamas-led parliamentary meeting. His participation in the meeting made particular headlines as it came years after it was reported Dahlan had been involved in an aborted US coup to rid Gaza of Hamas.
According to the Wall Street Journal report in 2024, Dahlan has also maintained contact with Hamas and has reportedly accepted that the group’s presence in the Palestinian territories is a political reality that is unlikely to change despite Israeli and US-led initiatives.
The same WSJ report claimed some Arab, Israeli, and American officials viewed Dahlan as a possible candidate to lead the Gaza Strip after the conclusion of the Hamas war.
