Mahmoud Abbas Resigns As PLO Chief

The committee decided on Saturday night to start preparations for convening the Palestinian National Council as part of Abbas’s efforts to bring new faces to the leadership.

Abbas retains the titles of Palestinian president and chairman of the Palestinian Authority. More than half of the 18 committee members stepped down with him. He has threatened to resign or dissolve the Palestinian Authority several times since becoming president of the PA.

The PLO Executive Committee acts on behalf of Palestinians in the occupied territories and the diaspora, notably in the peace process with Israel.

The move won’t have an immediate effect however, as Mr Abbas will stay in his post until the Palestinian National Council – the equivalent of the Palestinian parliament – accepts his resignation.

They said that Abbas could be replaced by Palestinian politician and negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Elected in 2005, Abbas is now in the eleventh year of what was supposed to be a four-year term.

Erakat was given the post after Abbas suspended the former secretary general, Yasser Abed Rabbo, for reasons that remain unclear. It was not immediately clear why Abed Rabbo, a veteran PLO figure, had been sidelined.