Hamas declines to take part in planned PNC meeting

By Qais Abu Samra and Mohammed Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has no plan to take part in a preparatory meeting to be held in advance of an upcoming session of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), a Hamas spokesman said Tuesday.

"Our position on the issue is clear," group spokesman Hazim Qasim told Anadolu Agency.

"Before the PNC meeting is held, we want to hold a PLO [Palestine Liberation Organization] leadership framework meeting" that would include leaders of all Palestinian factions, he said.

"Hamas opposes any sessions or conferences convened in the absence of a Palestinian national consensus," Qasim said.

The last two sessions of the PNC -- which functions like a parliament for the PLO -- were held in the Gaza Strip and Ramallah in 1996 and 2009 respectively.