Fatah says convening National Council a strategic Palestinian interest
Publish Date: 2017/08/19
http://english.wafa.ps/page.aspx?id=NUv9ioa91709015574aNUv9io

RAMALLAH, August 19, 2017 (WAFA - official PLO news agency) - Fatah movement
said on Saturday that convening the National Council is a national
necessity, a strategic Palestinian interest, and a protection for the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the sole legitimate representative
of the Palestinian people.

Osama Qawasmi, Fatah spokesman and member of its Revolutionary Council, said
in a press statement that "the call for convening the National Council comes
during sensitive, important and critical circumstances, especially in light
of the Israeli assault on the Palestinians as a whole, their leadership and
the PLO and its attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause through the
creation of an alternative leadership."

He mentioned the Village Leagues, which Israel attempted to create in the
West Bank in the 1970s, and following the PLO departure from Beirut in 1982
as examples of Israeli attempts to create alternative leadership to the
Palestinian people.

Qawasmi warned that Hamas' refusal to participate in the planned meeting of
the National Council, the PLO parliament, "is a continuation of the division
approach that began since its inception, and evidence of its adherence to
alliances with suspicious non-patriotic parties."

He said the Islamic Jihad, which, along with Hamas, is not a member of the
National Council, holds a position similar to that of Hamas.

The Palestinian National Council is expected to convene most likely in
Ramallah in September, before President Mahmoud Abbas flies to New York to
address the United Nations General Assembly.

M.K.