Palestinian President calls for int'l peace conference

Ramallah, April 23 (IANS) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday called for an international peace conference to be held under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), the US, Russia, China, the European Union, Japan, South Africa and Brazil, aiming to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region.

During a speech in a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Central Council meeting hold in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas stressed that the proposed conference must be based on UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, the International Court of Justice, the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, and the signed agreements between the PLO and Israel.

He also talked about the creation of the position of Vice President of the Executive Committee of the PLO and the State of Palestine, noting that he has referred the matter to the PLO National Council and requested its President to take necessary legal steps to amend the PLO's basic law to establish the position.

The central council began its two-day meeting on Wednesday in Ramallah, Xinhua news agency reported.

The meeting will discuss the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the creation of the position of Vice President of the PLO, the first since its history.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hamas said that the PLO meeting could be an "opportunity to make a unified national position".

The movement stressed the need for the meeting to take "responsible and courageous decisions" to stop the war and restore the unified Palestinian position in defence of national rights.

The PLO is a coalition of parties that signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1993 and formed a new government in the Palestinian Authority with promises of statehood that never materialised. Both are dominated by Fatah, which Abbas leads.

Hamas was not party to the 1993 accords and does not recognise Israel.

While Abbas has never outright condemned the October 7 attack on Israel, he has criticised Hamas for it in the past and reiterated his general condemnation of attacks against civilians.

Abbas's speech laid out his vision to create a Palestinian state, calling for an end to the war in Gaza and renewed calls for a unification of Palestinian political factions under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). His list of priorities also called for a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

--IANS

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