1st LD: Palestinian President announces wish to retire

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas informed the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Tuesday night that he wanted to quit political life, a senior official told Xinhua.

Ghassan Shak'aa, a member of the Executive Committee of PLO, said that Abbas made his remarks during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"Abbas said he wants to retire from all his political posts, including the presidency and that he is not intending to race in the PLO executive committee elections during the next session of the Palestinian National Council (PNC)," Shak'aa said.

The PNC is expected to convene on Sept. 14 to elect new members of the PLO executive committee after more than half of its members resigned ten days ago. The current committee consists of 18 members.

"Abbas was determined on his decision when members tried to convince him otherwise," Shak'aa said.

Apart from being the Palestinian President, Abbas is the chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and the chairman of Fatah Party's central committee, a mainstream faction in PLO.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Palestinian official said that Abbas won't run for chairing the PLO executive committee elections.

The PNC is the PLO's legislative body and its highest authority. It serves as the parliament for all Palestinians in and out of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), representing all sectors of the Palestinian community worldwide, including political parties, popular organizations, resistance movements, and independent figures from all sectors of life. Endit