Abbas resigns from PLO Executive Committee

Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas resigned from the PLO Executive Committee, Al-Mayadeen TV reported yesterday.

The channel reported that a senior official said Abbas’s resignation came following calls for half of the committee’s members to resign in order to legally call for the Palestinian National Council to convene.

Hanan Ashrawi, Saeb Erekat, Ahmed Majdalani, Mahmoud Ismail, Ahmed Qurei and Ghassan Al-Shak’a are also due to resign.

The committee to due to convene in Ramallah on Saturday to discuss the resignations.

Article 14 of the PLO convention stipulates that the National Council must convene in the event that one third of the members of the Executive Committee resigns in order to choose a new office.

The PLO Executive Committee consists of 18 members, including the president.