PLO forms new committee to study transition from PNA to state

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on Tuesday commissioned a special committee to study plans of turning the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to a state as soon as possible.

The PLO, which convened in Ramallah and was chaired by President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a press statement that it wants to implement President Abbas' speech he addressed at the UN General Assembly last week.

"Implementing the speech will include the transmission (of the Palestinian entity) from the position of PNA to the position of a Palestinian state as soon as possible," said the statement.

In his UN speech, Abbas said the Palestinian side won't be able to carry out with its commitments to the signed agreements with Israel, adding that Israel should bear the responsibility of an occupying authority.

The PLO meeting was held amid a growing tension between Israel and the Palestinians, which have been growing in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since Thursday.

The PLO said it decided to keep in a status of an open-ended meeting and accused the Israeli government of declaring a war on the Palestinian people and their leadership.

"The Israeli government is practicing cleansing, field execution and imposing collective punishments against our people in the Palestinian territories," said the PLO statement.

The meeting also called on the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to carry out all the needed legal measures in relation to Abbas' request of protecting the Palestinian people who live in the occupied state of Palestine.

Over the past few days, four Palestinians and four Israelis were killed in a new wave of violence that broke out in both the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Medical sources said that more than 500 Palestinian were injured in the clashes. Endit