The Palestinian Central Council commissioned last night President Mahmoud Abbas to call for holding early presidential and legislative elections; the Council also decided to start preparing for holding a new term of the Palestinian National Council. Speaker of the Council Saleem Za'noun said: it was decided to hold early presidential and legislative elections according to full proportional representation and President Abbas will issue a decree on this matter because this is part of his constitutional authorities. He explained that the Council mandated President Abbas to issue the constitutional presidential decrees according to his jurisdictions in a manner to achieve the national interests of the Palestinian people. He added: the Council decided to revive the Palestinian Council Committee to work on concluding the Palestinian constitution project and ratify it in the next council terms. He elaborated: the most important decisions of the Palestinian Central Council is the call on the Palestinian National Council to convene as soon as possible in its current formation. He said a preparatory committee was formed to hold the PNC and this committee consists of members of the PLO Executive Committee and the Speaker Office of the PNC and Palestinian qualified figures and this committee will prepare for holding the PNC meeting in the Palestinian lands and it will set up a date for this meeting. Za'noun affirmed that the council believes that Hamas Movement has not retreated from its coup against the Palestinian legitimacy and that it continues with a non-Palestinian scheme with regional dimensions. The council believes that there is no solution to the Palestinian crisis until Hamas retreats from its bloody coup and its results and until Hamas hands over the PA security and civil headquarters to the legitimate authority headed by President Mahmoud Abbas. The Council supported the decision and decrees of the President on handling the crisis of the military coup executed by Hamas against the legitimate authority, especially its support to the government of Abbas headed by Salam Fayyad. He explained: The Palestinian National Council in its current formation which includes 725 members from inside and abroad and work will proceed in parallel between holding the PNC meeting in its current formation and start of measures to form a new PNC using a democratic means. Za'noun said the decisions taken by the Palestinian Central Council were taken by the majority with the exception of the reservations of representatives of the PFLP.

Published at Al Quds NewsPaper on July 20, 2007