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1st LD: Palestine's Abbas resigns PLO leadership to force new internal election: official

Xinhua, August 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Saturday resigned as leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Executive Committee ahead of new internal elections, a senior official said.

More than half of the 18-member committee also stepped down along with Abbas.

Ghassan Shak'aa, one of the nine PLO committee members who resigned, told Xinhua that the resignations were submitted during a PLO executive committee meeting held in Ramallah and chaired by Abbas.

"Slaeem Za'noon, speaker of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), received the resignations of President Abbas and nine members of the PLO executive committee in accordance with the law," said Shak'aa.

According to the law, Za'noon has to call for an emergency meeting of the PNC to elect a new committee after the resignation, said Shak'aa.

The current executive committee and its chairman will keep their job until the PNC holds its session.

The executive committee is the highest executive body of the PLO, and the provisional government of the State of Palestine. Endit