GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the second-largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has decided to boycott the upcoming meeting of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), scheduled to be held April 30 in Ramallah.

Zulfiqar Sawirjo, a PFLP leader, told Al-Monitor, “Our position is clear. The PNC should convene outside the country so that all factions can attend the meeting. Holding a PNC session in Ramallah under the Israeli occupation prevents many faction leaders from attending such a meeting. We will boycott the PNC but remain part of the PLO, which serves as a reference for the Palestinian people.”

Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in Gaza or outside Palestine cannot travel to Ramallah because Israel will not allow them to enter the West Bank. The PFLP's decision to boycott came after two days of talks, April 17-18, between representatives from that group and the Fatah movement in Cairo, during which the PFLP called for the postponement of the PNC meeting until a consensus formula could be reached that would allow members of Hamas to attend. The two parties failed to reach such a consensus, and Fatah refused to postpone the meeting.

Sawirjo further remarked, “Fatah did not abide by the outcome of the PNC Preparatory Committee meeting, which was held in Beirut on Jan. 10, 2017, between the PLO factions, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement. They agreed on the need for the PNC meetings to include all the Palestinian forces in a bid to restore the stature of the divided Palestinian political system. Fatah, however, insisted on holding the meeting in Ramallah.”