About 240 members of the ruling Fatah movement announced collective resignation to protest at the weakness and poor performance of Fatah in local elections, Palestinian sources said on Tuesday.

These Fatah members in the Gaza-Egypt border town of Rafah signed a letter of resignation, saying that the movement has never achieved the best results in the municipal elections.

They also complained that different armed wings of Fatah are busy with their personal interests and benefits.

"This massive resignation is the first step. We understand what it means and there would be more escalatory steps," warned the signatories without specification.

Led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah emerged as the biggest winner in the third stage of the municipal elections held in the West Bank in late September by winning 53.7 percent or 547 seats out of a total of 1,018 up for grabs.

The radical Islamic group Hamas is expected to present a tough challenge to Fatah in the legislative elections due to be held on Jan. 25 after putting up a strong showing in the previous two rounds of municipal elections in Gaza and the West Bank.

(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2005)