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Two PLO factions boycott Palestinian National Council’s meetings

January 20, 2022 at 8:25 am

Palestinians gather to attend a rally marking the 49th anniversary of the founding of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Rafah, Gaza on 13 December, 2016 [Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu Agency]

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command– and the Vanguard of Popular Liberation War – Lightening Forces– announced on Wednesday they would boycott the Palestinian National Council’s (PNC) meetings scheduled to be held in Ramallah.

In a statement, the two factions said that the rebuilding of the PLO and holding the PNC should be based on the outcomes of the meeting of secretariats of the Palestinian factions held recently in Lebanon.

The two factions insisted on the necessity for full cooperation and agreement between all the Palestinian national factions without any exceptions.

Adopting these measures will, according to the two factions, guarantee the achievement of national partnership and reactivate the PLO on the principles of a comprehensive Palestinian national strategy to fight the occupation.

It is worth noting that the PNC’s chair, Salim al Za’anoun, has resigned and said that the council would be held from Thursday to Saturday in Ramallah.

The meetings will include discussions on how to rebuild the PLO and other issues related to engagement with the Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupation.

Fatah has nominated the former parliament speaker Rawhi Fatouh, who was sacked in 2008 over corruption charges, and Azzam al Ahmad, head of Fatah’s bloc in the parliament, to be its candidates to head the PNC.

PFLP: PLO’s Central Council will not meet despite bribes offered