The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) reaffirmed on Sunday that it is boycotting meetings of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) linked to the PLO. According to a statement from the PFLP, the reason for the boycott is “the lack of national agreement.”
The PFLP is the second largest of the factions belonging to the Palestine Liberation Organisation after Fatah. The PLO and Fatah are both led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“A boycott of the meetings of the PNC is a reaffirmation of the previous stances which were taken against any measures that are likely to deepen the internal Palestinian division,” explained the PFLP. Holding PNC meetings without a national agreement “reinforces the policy of Fatah’s domination over the Palestinian national institutions,” it insisted.
The PNC is the highest Palestinian legislative body affiliated to the PLO, the umbrella organisation of all Palestinian factions except Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The PFLP called for a national dialogue of all factions to agree on the implementation of previous decisions, including the withdrawal of the PLO’s recognition of Israel, the cancellation of the Oslo Accords and an end to the PLO’s obligations to implement the latter.
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Two other factions have announced that they are also boycotting the meetings of the PNC. The Palestinian Initiative Movement said that it has not received invitations to attend such meetings.
“Boycotting the meetings by three Palestinian factions reinforces the illegitimacy of the meetings,” said senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri. He pointed out that this reflects widespread Palestinian rejection of Fatah’s policies and its domination over PLO institutions.