President Mahmoud Abbas chaired yesterday a high-profile meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Fatah Movement at the Presidential Headquarters in Ramallah that discussed the latest political developments in Palestine and the region.
At the beginning of the meeting, President Abbas briefed the attendees of the ongoing efforts to mobilize international and Arab support for holding an international peace conference in accordance with the resolutions of the international community. He said the UN Security Council’s recent session discussed the idea and ways to bring it to reality.
The meeting discussed the ongoing preparations to hold the legislative and presidential elections and the results of the recent meeting of the Palestinian factions in Cairo concerning the legislative elections scheduled for May.
The Fatah Central Committee commended the communique of the Cairo meeting which paves the way for ending the division and restoring national unity through the electoral process.
“The results achieved in Cairo are a true expression of the Palestinian national will to establish a new phase of national partnership based on the foundations of democracy, leading to an end of the division through the ballot box,” read the communique of the meeting, as it affirmed commitment to a “free and fair election throughout Palestine, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.”
On the political arena, the Fatah Central Committee reiterated its adherence to a political solution of the conflict in Palestine based on a two-state solution, the resolutions of the international community and the collective rights of the Palestinian people, leading to the creation of an independent State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.
The Fatah Central Committee urged for practical steps to achieve President Abbas’ vision of holding an international peace conference under the auspices of the International Quartet leading to an end of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The meeting commended the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC that its jurisdiction includes the territories of Palestine, including the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, describing it as a victory for the values of justice, humanity and freedom. It urged the ICC to open an immediate probe into the Israeli war crimes, including the settlement enterprise, the issue of the prisoners and the past Israeli aggressions on Gaza.
The Central Committee of Fatah expressed appreciation for top Fatah leader Marwan Bargouti’s message to President Mahmoud Abbas in which he reaffirmed that Fatah will run for legislative elections in a unified, single list of candidates as per the criteria of the Central Committee.
