THE ruling Palestinian Fatah Party negotiated feverishly yesterday, trying to persuade young activists from breaking away to form their own faction, a split that might boost the prospects of Hamas militants in parliamentary elections next month.

Imprisoned uprising leader Marwan Barghouti is dropping out of the election to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority, associates said tonight.

The ruling Fatah movement chose interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as its candidate for January’s presidential election last night, but Fatah rebels said they would challenge the decision.

Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian uprising leader jailed by Israel who is perhaps the strongest candidate to oust Yasser Arafat’s old guard of politicians, will run in presidential elections, a close aide said today.

Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian uprising leader seen as a successor to Yasser Arafat, faces life in an Israeli prison after being was convicted today of ordering shootings that killed four Israelis and a Greek monk.