Palestinian Presidential Candidate Nasser al-Kidwa

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So listen, can I start by asking you how you got to this point of running and creating a new party because you were part of Fatah. You are, you know, the nephew of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, and now you’ve been thrown out of the – of the party. Why have you decided that it’s so necessary and urgent that you would risk being thrown out of your own historic political tribe so to speak?

NASSER ALKIDWA, FORMER PALESTINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Well thank you. Thank you, Christiane, for having me first, and secondly, let me say this. I was not planning to be expelled from my party, and I don’t recognize this expulsion anyway. Let me add also that we don’t have a party. We have a gathering – a political gathering that might develop into something more formal at the later stage, but in regards (ph) to your question how did I get here, I think there is a general Palestinian feeling that the situation has got very bad. In terms of both the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and in terms of the internal Palestinian situation. And as such there was a feeling that there is a need for a change – deep and broad change that could face those difficulties and try to provide answers, and we have done just like – just that. I mean, we quickly formed this Palestinian measured in graphic (ph) assembly and we established – we put together a program – very serious program, comprehensive that will provide not only analysis but provide answers and moreover specific tasks for those who might be elected to the legislative council at a later stage so they can be, of course, judged on the basis of that.