GAZA/RAMALLAH, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of supporters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party celebrated in both Gaza City and the West Bank city of Ramallah the 54th anniversary of the founding of the party.

In Ramallah, Abbas ignited the torch marking 54 years since the establishment of his Fatah movement, the largest leading faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization, as thousands of Fatah supporters gathered for the celebrations.

Fatah was founded on Jan. 1, 1965 by a group of Palestinians, including Yasser Arafat who died of a mysterious disease in a French hospital in 2004.

After igniting the torch, Abbas slammed Islamic Hamas movement, ruler of the Gaza Strip, for preventing his supporters in the coastal enclave to celebrate the anniversary.

In Gaza, the Hamas interior security arrested dozens of Abbas' supporters and prevented them from celebrating the anniversary of Fatah.