An emergency meeting of Fatah"s Central Commitee decided on Saturday to oust its member Mohamed Dahlan, as well as recommending his referral to the attorney general on charges of murder and financial corruption.

Dahlan, a former security chief in Gaza, has been accused of masterminding a plot to topple Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, allegations that Dahlan had repeatedly denied.

The committee voted to expel him with 13 voting in favour, six abstaining and no votes against, a Fatah official said.

For his part, Dahlan sent a message to the Central committee and published in Palestinian media in which he bluntly accused the Palestinian president of corruption blaming him for what he described as the collapse of Fatah, which overwhelmingly dominated the Palestinian political landscape for decades.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the Fatah Central Committee's decision to suspend Dahlan was mainly due to investigations undertaken by a special commission of inquiry that was established to  investigate his alleged involvement in an anti-Palestinian Authority plot.

Dahlan countered by alleging that the investigation panel was mainly a ploy to distort his image, especially after he accused Abbas's sons of corruption, and exposed his own corruption in handling the Palestinian Investment Fund after the death of Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

A Fatah official in Ramallah said Abbas is now seeking to expel Dahlan from Fatah and declare him persona non grata in the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinian presidient also ordered the closing of five websites known for being run by Dahlan supporters.

Last year the Palestinian Authority closed down a private TV station owned by Dahlan loyalists in the West Bank.