PLO Political Chief, Farouq Al-Qaddoumi, Staying in Fatah, Voices Support for the Resistance

PLO political chief will not quit Fatah as reported
Date: 24 / 02 / 2008 Time: 10:22
Bethlehem – Ma'an –

The head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Political Department, Farouq Al-Qaddoumi, on Sunday denied that he intends to quit the Fateh party. He said news reports about him planning to leave Fateh were false and baseless.

Qaddoumi told the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, "They attempted to defame us through the Arab intelligence agencies which are influenced by collaborators. We have to know that the PLO is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and so if the Palestinian Authority is not recognized at international level, the PLO is recognized by the UN and the PLO's political department is an official department."

As for the relations between him and the Palestinian president, Qaddoumi explained that they are politically at odds. The crux of that disagreement is that he supports resistance, while president Abbas has his own belief that he could reach a political compromise with the Israelis, added Qaddoumi.

With regards to the frequent meetings between Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister, Qaddoumi said those can't be described as negotiations as they are not more than pointless meetings. He reiterated the statement by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad affirming that there has been no progress in the negotiations since the Annapolis peace summit.

Commenting on disagreement within the Fateh movement, Qaddoumi said, "I frequently attend the preparatory sessions and try to help my brothers to reach the desired ends before holding Fateh's sixth conference. I could clearly say there are certain personnel within Fatah whom I used to dub minors; the Arab countries intelligence services seem to defame the image of Fateh.

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