The PCC will convene at 10:30am on Tuesday, April 27, to discuss the expiry of the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements. The meeting will be held in the Palestinian presidential headquarters on the Gaza coast.

The last time the PCC met was on Dec. 10, 1998, to ratify the letter of President Yasser Arafat to U.S. President Bill Clinton nullifying articles of the Palestinian Charter.

Clause 1 of Article V of the DOP, signed in Washington on September 13, 1993, states: “The five-year transitional period will begin upon the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Jericho area.” The agreement on the Gaza-Jericho withdrawal was signed in Cairo on May 5, 1994, so the PLO contends that they expire on May 4, 1999.

The PCC’s invitation to its 124 members does not mention what the agenda will be, but the public statements of its chairman, Salim Zanoun, indicate that it will discuss the alternatives posed by the expiry of the DOP.

The PCC is the second-highest PLO decision-making body. The highest is the Palestinian National Council, which has more than 700 members. The PNC decided to create the PCC in 1974, but it was not until the mid-80s that the PCC came into being. The last time the PNC convened was in Gaza on April 21, 1996, to nullify articles of the Palestinian Charter. In between PNC sessions, the PCC is authorized with PNC legislative powers. Zanoun also chairs the PNC. The PCC’s composition is as follows:

• PLO Executive Committee: 18 members
• PNC independent representatives: 35 members
• PNC permanent committee heads: 8 members
• Palestinian Legislative Council: 20 members
• PLO union representatives: 13 members
• PLO Military Council representatives: 3 members
• Fatah, the largest PLO faction: 6 members
• All other factions: 2 each
• NOTE: Five are members who have seats in the PLO, PNC and PLC.
• NOTE: Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not represented in the PCC.

Of the 124 current members, about 100 are expected to attend. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, led by George Habash, has announced that it will boycott the meeting.

It is not known how long the PCC session will last. Some officials have said that after one day of meetings (a morning and afternoon session), the PCC could declare itself in open session for about one month (till after the second round of prime ministerial elections in Israel on June 1).

On the agenda for the PCC session are: a report from the PLO, a report from the PLC, a speech from Arafat, and other speeches.