Erekat calls for carrying out elections to face deal of the century

PLO’s Secretary General Saeb Erekat called for carrying out general elections in the Palestinian territories in order to face the deal of the century, Al-Resalah newspaper reported yesterday.

During a speech he delivered at the Sixth National Security Conference held in Gaza, Erekat stressed on the importance of Palestinian unity to tackle the deal of the century.

He stressed that President Mahmoud Abbas is against participation in the US’ conference in Bahrain and has called on Arab states not to take part in it. Last month the US announced that it would be rolling out the first stage of its Middle East peace plan dubbed the “deal of the century” in an economic forum in Bahrain. The “Peace to Prosperity” conference aims to encourage “investment in the Palestinian territories” ahead of the revelation of further details of the peace plan.

“However,” he said, “it seems that the political interests [for the Arab states] are bigger than the language of our rights.”

The PLO official also stressed on the importance of sticking to the international community and denied claims that the PA is making concessions in favour of the deal of the century.

READ: Why we refuse the economic workshop on the deal of the century in Bahrain