AMMAN: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee decided Saturday to intensify discussions aimed at reaching an agreement to hold a full session of the Palestine National Council (PNC) parliament-in-exile.
The decision follows a recommendation by the Fatah Central Committee to convene a full session of the PNC in order to elect a new executive committee and central council, and to approve a political program.
Hamadeh Faraneh, a member of the PNC, welcomed the call but expressed reservations about the idea of holding the meeting in Ramallah.
“The problems with holding the PNC in Ramallah are twofold,” Faraneh said. “It needs both a political consensus and a legal quorum.”
Political consensus would require national reconciliation, at least within the PLO factions. And in order to have a legal session, members would have to appear in person and not via video conferencing, Faraneh told Arab News. Some PNC members living outside of Palestine may refuse to come to occupied areas or may be barred by the Israelis from entering.
The question of holding the PNC outside of Ramallah could produce political problems with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Following the suspension of security coordination with Israel, Abbas is no longer as mobile as he was. And holding a PNC session in nearby Amman or Cairo might be seen as having political meanings or weakening the independence of the PLO.
One possibility, Faraneh suggests, is to hold the PNC session in Algiers. The 1988 session held in Algiers witnessed the declaration of the state of Palestine by Yasser Arafat.
PLO intensifies talks for Palestinian National Council session
PLO intensifies talks for Palestinian National Council session
Israeli destruction of Gaza continues despite ceasefire
- At least 2,500 buildings demolished, NYT reports, using satellite imagery
- It’s not selective destruction, it’s everything,’ says former Israeli commander
LONDON: Israel continues to destroy buildings and infrastructure in Gaza despite signing a ceasefire agreement more than two months ago, the New York Times reported.
At least 2,500 buildings have been demolished. While much of the destruction has taken place in Israeli-occupied Gaza, the NYT, using satellite imagery obtained from Planet Labs, showed that numerous buildings had been demolished in territory ostensibly controlled by Hamas, despite the terms of the ceasefire including an Israeli pledge to cease operations there.
A UN report last year found that as much as 80 percent of Gaza’s buildings were either damaged or destroyed during the nearly two-year conflict that ravaged the enclave, with most of its population displaced.
Gaza-based political analyst Mohammed Al-Astal told the NYT: “Israel is wiping entire areas off the map.”
He added: “The Israeli military is destroying everything in front of it — homes, schools, factories and streets. There’s no security justification for what it’s doing.”
A former Israeli military official called the activity “absolute destruction.” Shaul Arieli, a former commander who served in Gaza in the 1990s, added: “It’s not selective destruction, it’s everything.”
A Hamas official based in Qatar said Israel’s actions violate the ceasefire. “The agreement isn’t vague, it’s clear,” Husam Badran told the NYT. “Destroying people’s homes and property isn’t allowed. They’re hostile actions.”
