Dozens members of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian ruling Fatah movement, inaugurated a new office in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis for Fatah chief Farooq al-Kadoumi who is based in Tunis now, witnesses said Monday.

Kadoumi was nominated as the chief of the ruling movement right after late leader Yasser Arafat died on Nov. 11 last year, but he preferred to stay in Tunis and said that he would only return back if Israel completely withdraws.

The witnesses said that the militants had first marched the city streets, and then went to a building in the heart of the city and inaugurated the new office for Kadoumi who said he will come to Gaza after the withdrawal.

Israel is intending to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank on Aug. 17.

The militants said that Kadoumi is the legitimate successor of the late leader Yasser Arafat and called on the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to end corruption and continue with reforms.

Kadoumi office in Tunis said in a statement that the march was a clear sign of the popularity Kadoumi that he gains among Fatah members in the Palestinian territories, adding that he is a " trustworthy leader" as described by late Arafat.

"The office in Khan Younis aims at coordinating with all Palestinian factions and cut the way on suspicious voices working in the dark to divide the steadfast Palestinian people and tamper with his capabilities," added the statement.

Kadoumi, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s political bureau's chief and Fatah's chairman, announced on the sidelines of the Fatah Central Committee meeting held in Jordan last week that he will go to Gaza after a complete pullout.

Source: Xinhua