Bethlehem (West Bank), Aug 4 (DPA) The Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas began its first party conference in 20 years Tuesday.

More than 2,000 delegates gathered in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem for the three-day event.

Delegates are to adopt a new platform and re-elect Fatah's two main decision-making bodies, the 21-member Central Committee and the 120-member Revolutionary Council.

The 2,267 participants include many who have travelled from exile abroad, receiving rare Israeli clearance to enter the occupied territory.

They filled a large auditorium in Bethlehem's Terra Sancta college, in the historic centre of the biblical city, near the Church of the Nativity marking the traditional site of Jesus' birth.