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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Abbas term extension devoid of legitimacy |
| 2009-12-18 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] The Palestinian Legislative Council speaker says the the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has no constitutional authority to extended the tenure of Mahmoud Abbas as acting chief of the Palestinian Authority. "The PLO's central council violated all political norms when it took such a step and interfered in the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)," Aziz Dweik told Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite news channel on Wednesday. "The solution to discord over Abbas' term extension lies in one of these two things: either to task legal experts with in-depth study of the matter or to resolve it through a national reconciliation agreement," he added. On Wednesday, officials from the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) decided Mahmoud Abbas would remain in office for the foreseeable future. The vote endorsed Abbas' earlier decision to call off the January 24 presidential and legislative elections due to the boycott of the vote in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas movement. Parliament's mandate was extended too at the PLO meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Abbas says it is impossible to hold the elections due to Hamas' refusal to allow voting in the Gaza Strip. The Central Council also endorsed Abbas' refusal to return to negotiations with Israel until the regime stops the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied lands. "We will not go to negotiations until Israel fully halts settlement activities and agrees to a term of reference for such negotiations," said PLO Central Council member Tawfiq al-Tirawi. Abbas' failure to mend fences with the rival Hamas movement has impaired his reputation among scores of Palestinians. |
| Posted by:Fred |