Ezzat al-Resheq Hamas political bureau member said on Wednesday that an agreement was reached to elect a new Palestinian National Council (PNC) with the participation of all Palestinian forces and factions including Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
In an exclusive statement to the PIC Resheq said that the new PNC will be formed in accordance with the Cairo Declaration of 2003 and the reconciliation agreements in 2011. He pointed out that the council will be composed by election whenever possible and by consensus in the cases when elections cannot be held.
The Palestinian leader hoped that the formation of the new national council will be a prelude to a unified national strategy that takes into consideration all the possible options especially all forms of resistance to put an end to the occupation.
The preparatory committee held a meeting on Tuesday in Beirut to discuss in depth how to reshape the council in a way that guarantees a true representation of all factions and includes administrative and financial reforms and to agree on the place where the council will be convened.
Fatah movement has called in its seventh general conference which was held last month for holding the PNC within three months.
Salim al-Za’noun president of the PNC sent last Sunday written invitations to the members of the preparatory committee in charge of preparing for the convening of the PNC.
The PNC is considered the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) parliament. It includes representatives of Palestinian factions and groupings inside the Palestinian territories and outside in addition to the 132 members of the Legislative Council.
According to the website of the PNC with more than 750 members the council held 22 regular and emergency sessions. The latest session was held in the Gaza Strip in 1996.
The latest emergency session of the National Council was held in December 2009 in Ramallah after the death of Samir Ghosheh member of the Executive Committee of the PLO to fill 6 vacancies in the committee.
