PLO calls for UN-sponsored conference for Palestine

By Eyser el-Ays

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Executive Committee called for a UN-sponsored international conference to solve the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine, local media reported late Saturday.

Palestine’s official WAFA news agency reported that the Committee convened in Ramallah ahead of a central council meeting of the PLO on Sunday.

In a statement, the Committee called on the international community to hold an international conference under the auspices of the U.N. for the assurance of the establishment of the Palestinian state with its capital as East Jerusalem.

Last December, Palestinian President Abbas announced a meeting of the PLO Central Council to discuss steps to be taken against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

On Friday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said it will not attend a central council meeting of the PLO.

“The meeting will be held in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, which means that senior Hamas officials won’t be able to attend,” said a senior Hamas official who preferred to remain anonymous told Anadolu Agency.

On Tuesday, the Islamic Jihad movement announced Tuesday that it will not participate in the meeting as it will be held in an Israeli occupied city.