RAMALLAH, Sept. 26 (JMCC) - The Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (
PFLP) has temporarily suspended its membership in the PLO over its decision to resume negotiations with
Israel, according to the AFP.
The decision, which was announced Sunday, came after weeks of criticism from several Palestinian factions over the decision spearheaded by President
Mahmoud Abbas of the
Fatah party to negotiate with Israeli Prime Minister
Benyamin Netanyahu.
Abbas had previously threatened to walk out of negotiations if Netanyahu did not extend a moratorium on new
settlement construction that ended Sunday, but no such action was taken.
This decision came for two reasons, senior PFLP official Khalida Jarar told AFP about the decision not to participate in meetings of the PLO's powerful Executive Committee.
Politically, it is related to the structure of the direct negotiations (with Israel), and administratively, it is related to the decision-making process of the PLO.
The PFLP is the second most important member of the umbrella organisation after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement, which has dominated the PLO since its founding in the mid-1960s.
The PLO, also led by Abbas, is considered the sole international representative of the Palestinian people, and includes most major political factions but not the Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza.
The PFLP said in a statement that its suspension does not mean that it has joined an alternative to the PLO.
Read more at the AFP...