Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg
27 December 2016•Update: 30 December 2016
By Qais Abu Samra and Mohammed Majid
GAZA CITY, Palestine
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.
