Palestinian National Council meetings must not be in Ramallah, insists Hamas

Hamas said on Monday that holding meetings of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) in Ramallah is a “coup” against Palestinian consensus, Quds Press has reported. A spokesman for the Islamic Resistance Movement pointed out that the meetings of the PNC preparation committee in Beirut earlier this year agreed that all of the Palestinian factions must attend the meetings which must be held outside the West Bank.

“If [the PLO and Fatah President Mahmoud] Abbas insisted on holding the PNC meetings in the occupied city of Ramallah,” explained Abdul Latif Al-Qanou, “then this would be a coup against the understandings agreed upon in Beirut.” He noted that holding the PNC meetings without Hamas and Islamic Jihad would, in turn, “reinforce the internal division.”

In January, the PNC preparation committee held a two-day meeting in Beirut and agreed upon the participation of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The committee agreed to hold regular meetings with the participation of all the Palestinian factions until the actual PNC meetings. Committee members said that they are waiting for the head of the PNC, Salim Al-Zaanoun, to complete the necessary measures to conduct legislative elections.

Read: PLO’s national council meetings kick off in Beirut

Hamas achieved an overwhelming majority in the last true Palestinian elections, which were held in 2006. The Islamic movement beat its main rival, the secular Fatah movement. Historically, Fatah was the most prominent and dominant Palestinian faction.