Hamas, Islamic Jihad refuse to join PLO central meetings

GAZA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Hamas movement and Islamic Jihad said on Friday that they won't attend the two-day meetings of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council scheduled for next week.

Qatar-based Musa Abu Maezooq, a member of Hamas politburo, wrote on his Twitter account that his Islamic group decides not to join the meetings that will be held in Ramallah on Sunday and Monday.

Meanwhile, a senior Islamic Jihad official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that his movement had officially informed the council of its intention not to join the meetings.

The two Islamic groups are in fact not part of the Palestinian (National) Authority or the PLO, as they have been violently opposing the peace process and the Oslo peace accords signed between Israel and the PLO in 1993.

The Islamic Jihad official said his group and Hamas agreed that their participation in the meetings won't bring any benefits to the two groups and that the results of the council meetings will be less than expectations.

The upcoming PLO central council will discuss the consequences of U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Palestinian sources said the council will also discuss the internal Palestinian reconciliation between Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party, as well as Palestinian strategies toward U.S. and Israel policies over Jerusalem.

Earlier in the day, the Palestinian health ministry said in a press statement that 65 Palestinians were killed and injured by Israeli soldiers' gunfire during recent clashes between Palestinian protestors and Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza. Enditem