RAMALLAH: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas resigned Saturday as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee in a bid to force new elections for the top body, an official said.
Wassel Abu Yussef said that more than half of the 18-member committee had also stepped down.
“The resignation of the president of the executive committee Mahmud Abbas and more than half of its members has created a legal vacuum, and therefore the Palestine National Council has been asked to meet in one month to elect a new executive committee,” Yussef told AFP.
Yussef added, however, that the resignations will take effect only when the PNC meets. The PNC, or Palestinian parliament, has 740 members who live in the Palestinian territories and in the diaspora. It has not met in nearly 20 years.
Yussef said that before the resignations were announced, the executive committee elected chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat as its secretary general. That move came after Abbas suspended another key member, Yasser Abed Rabbo, as secretary general. It was not immediately clear why Rabbo had been sidelined.
Abbas quits PLO leadership ahead of internal election
Abbas quits PLO leadership ahead of internal election
Syria, Russia discuss developing military cooperation
- Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov is visiting Syria to develop military cooperation
LONDON: Syria’s Chief of General Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Naasan discussed military issues with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and his delegation on Wednesday.
Yevkurov is visiting Syria for several days to develop military cooperation that serves the common interests of both countries, according to Syria’s Defense Ministry.
In June, Syrian Defense Minister Maj. Gen. Murhaf Abu Qasr, Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani and General Intelligence Director Hussein Salameh met in Moscow with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov to discuss bilateral cooperation.
Russia was a strong supporter of Bashar Assad’s former regime and played a crucial role in 2015 in halting the territorial gains of rebels during the Syrian conflict. In December 2024, it assisted Assad in fleeing the country to Moscow from Khmeimim air base near the coastal city of Latakia.
The new administration in Damascus, led by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa, has met Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, on several occasions to maintain ties with Russia and serve Syrian interests.
