Ramallah - The upcoming sixth party conference of the Palestinian movement Fatah saw the arrival of hundreds of the movement's senior members-in-exile into the West Bank, officials said Saturday.

Hundreds of other Fatah members from the Gaza Strip, controlled by rival movement Hamas, have so far been denied the right to attend the conference, which was last held in 1989. The two parties are at odds, although a reconciliation process is underway.

Abdul Fattah Hamayel, a Fatah leader and governor of conference host-city Bethlehem, told reporters that hundreds of Fatah members had arrived in the city.

The three-day conference is scheduled to open on August 4, the birthday of late Fatah founder and leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Yasser Arafat.

Hamayel said that about 150 Fatah members, including officials to whom Israel has previously denied entry, arrived from Syria and Lebanon, countries which officially are still at war with Israel.

Crossing into the West Bank through the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge with Jordan, the Fatah members have apparently been permitted by Israel to stay for the three days of the conference.

Fatah members in exile had originally wanted the conference to be held outside the Palestinian territories, fearing arrest by Israel.

The estimated 2,000 Fatah members expected may dwindle significantly in number should Fatah-rival Hamas persist in its decision not to allow conference members to leave the salient.

Hamas officials have made granting travel permission to 400 Fatah members conditional upon the release by the Fatah-led PA of over 1,000 Hamas members held in West Bank jails.

Fatah and the PA have threatened to take reprisals against Hamas in the West Bank if the latter did not allow Fatah members to leave Gaza.

Senior West Bank Hamas officials have confirmed receiving threats of arrest and closure of all Hamas organizations in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Fatah Central Committee is planning a crucial and final meeting later Saturday in Ramallah in preparation for the conference, at which a new Fatah leadership is expected to be elected.

Fatah members are seeking positions in the 21-member Central Committee and 120-member Revolutionary Council, Fatah's two main decision-making bodies.

Yasser Arafat founded Fatah in 1965 and was its chairman until his death in November 2004, after which Abbas was elected chairman.

Fatah was to hold general conferences once every five years, but political developments following the fifth conference in Algiers in 1989 prevented further meetings.

Fatah, the largest Palestinian political movement, has faced serious setbacks in the last few years, including losing parliament elections to its main rival Hamas in January
2006 followed by its violent ouster from the Gaza Strip in June 2007.

Fatah members have expressed hope that the sixth conference will see the election of a more youthful and charismatic leadership that will bring the party back to its former strength. (dpa)