Mahmoud Abbas Resigns, Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday declared his intention to resign from his position as head of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, according to two members of the committee, in a political maneuver apparently designed to boost his legitimacy within the organization.
Mr. Abbas’s proposed resignation from the leadership committee, along with another 10 of its 18 members, enables the convening, possibly next month, of a rare, extraordinary session of the Palestine National Council, the P.L.O.’s legislative body, where new elections are to be held for the executive committee, and where those who resigned may stand for re-election.
Mr. Abbas has not resigned from his other position as president of the Palestinian Authority, the interim body that was set up under the peace accords in the 1990s to exercise limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank and Gaza.The P.L.O. represents Palestinians wherever they are and sets overall policy, including regarding negotiations with Israel. The machinations within the organization appeared to signal both the fractious and dysfunctional nature of Palestinian politics and an effort to deflect broad domestic criticism of political stagnation.
The Palestine National Council last convened in 2009 to replace six members of the executive committee who had died.
Mr. Abbas has faced questions about his legitimacy to rule within the Palestinian territories, where he was elected to what was originally meant to be a four-year term in 2005. New presidential and legislative elections for the Palestinian Authority have been precluded by an internal schism between Mr. Abbas’s Fatah party and the rival Islamic group, Hamas, which won the last legislative elections in 2006 and seized control of Gaza the next year.
Mr. Abbas recently removed Yasser Abed Rabbo, a veteran P.L.O. official, from his role as secretary of the executive committee. Palestinian analysts said that Mr. Abbas wanted to distance Mr. Abed Rabbo, who had become an increasingly vocal critic. Saeb Erekat, a close Abbas aide, has replaced Mr. Abed Rabbo as secretary.
Mr. Erekat was among those who declared their intention to resign from the executive committee on Saturday.
Mr. Erekat said that the executive committee resignations would only become effective once the Palestine National Council convened, “and then there will be an election.” Speaking by telephone, Mr. Erekat refused to elaborate about his or Mr. Abbas’s plans for re-election, saying only that “it will be up to the party.”
Hanan Ashrawi, another member of the executive committee who tendered her resignation on Saturday, said she had been trying to resign for some time.
“I believe the committee has not been doing its work. The whole P.L.O. has undergone a serious regression,” she said in a telephone interview, adding, “I believe we need new people and new blood.
Mr. Abbas’s proposed resignation from the leadership committee, along with another 10 of its 18 members, enables the convening, possibly next month, of a rare, extraordinary session of the Palestine National Council, the P.L.O.’s legislative body, where new elections are to be held for the executive committee, and where those who resigned may stand for re-election.
Mr. Abbas has not resigned from his other position as president of the Palestinian Authority, the interim body that was set up under the peace accords in the 1990s to exercise limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank and Gaza.The P.L.O. represents Palestinians wherever they are and sets overall policy, including regarding negotiations with Israel. The machinations within the organization appeared to signal both the fractious and dysfunctional nature of Palestinian politics and an effort to deflect broad domestic criticism of political stagnation.
The Palestine National Council last convened in 2009 to replace six members of the executive committee who had died.
Mr. Abbas has faced questions about his legitimacy to rule within the Palestinian territories, where he was elected to what was originally meant to be a four-year term in 2005. New presidential and legislative elections for the Palestinian Authority have been precluded by an internal schism between Mr. Abbas’s Fatah party and the rival Islamic group, Hamas, which won the last legislative elections in 2006 and seized control of Gaza the next year.
Mr. Abbas recently removed Yasser Abed Rabbo, a veteran P.L.O. official, from his role as secretary of the executive committee. Palestinian analysts said that Mr. Abbas wanted to distance Mr. Abed Rabbo, who had become an increasingly vocal critic. Saeb Erekat, a close Abbas aide, has replaced Mr. Abed Rabbo as secretary.
Mr. Erekat was among those who declared their intention to resign from the executive committee on Saturday.
Mr. Erekat said that the executive committee resignations would only become effective once the Palestine National Council convened, “and then there will be an election.” Speaking by telephone, Mr. Erekat refused to elaborate about his or Mr. Abbas’s plans for re-election, saying only that “it will be up to the party.”
Hanan Ashrawi, another member of the executive committee who tendered her resignation on Saturday, said she had been trying to resign for some time.
“I believe the committee has not been doing its work. The whole P.L.O. has undergone a serious regression,” she said in a telephone interview, adding, “I believe we need new people and new blood.
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