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Palestinian National Council summit ‘must’ follow internal discussions, insists Islamic Jihad

December 29, 2016 at 11:35 am

The Palestinian National council meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah [Issam Rimawi/Apaimages]

A number of Palestinian factions, including Islamic Jihad, said on Wednesday that the summit of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) must be preceded by internal discussions, Quds Press has reported.

The purpose of the discussions, said Islamic Jihad, is to reform the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). The group noted that this would have “national results that concern all Palestinians.” In a media statement, it said that the call for having a meeting of the PNC without conducting internal discussions to agree on the mechanisms that match the national vision to get out of the current political crisis, is a “retention of the same policies which caused the political crisis” in the first place.

The group noted that there was an agreement to form the Palestinian leadership based on national criteria; “therefore, it is unacceptable to pass on it.” It rejected what it called the “fait accompli” imposed by the agenda of another faction.

The Speaker of the Fatah parliamentary bloc, Azzam Al-Ahmad, revealed on a television programme that contacts have been made with the Palestinian factions regarding a meeting of the PNC. He said that one of the choices ahead of actually holding the summit is to invite Hamas and Islamic Jihad to attend the preparation committee, albeit on condition of forming a unity government.

He also claimed that Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook informed him that the movement had agreed to take part in the summit. However, Abu Marzook denied this and made it clear that Hamas also believes that internal national discussions should be held in advance of the PNC summit.