Following appeared in the Jordan Times

By Daoud Kuttab

Whenever the PLO’s parliament in exile is called to meet, one expects important decisions. This time, the Palestinian Central Council (PCC) will meet in Ramallah on Saturday to decide two critical issues: The future of talks with Israel and elections for president and parliament of Palestine.

The 120-member Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is considered an integral feature (but not the main one) of the PLO’s Palestinian National Council (PNC), which is considered the highest body in the organisation.

Planning the meeting of the PCC on April 26 is no coincidence. It will begin deliberations a mere three days before the expiry of the nine-month time frame agreed to by Israelis, Palestinians and the US.

The face-to-face secret talks have not produced any tangible results. A nonbiding bridging framework formula was supposed to be presented by the Americans, but was suddenly withdrawn.

Palestinians rejected an open-ended presence of Israeli troops in the Jordan Valley and demanded a clear reference to East Jerusalem as capital of the Palestinian state.

Israel rejected the American military plan for the Jordan Valley and insisted that Palestinians recognise Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people.

Attempts to get the talks extended were abruptly disrupted when the Israelis unilaterally decided not to release the fourth batch of the 104 long-serving Palestinian prisoners, as well as the Israeli announcement of further settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians hope will be the capital of their independent state. Continue Reading »