Drift and division

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THE PALESTINE Liberation Organisation's ruling Central Council met in Ramallah this week to extend the term of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas indefinitely.

Delegates to the roughly 120-member body, representing a collection of political parties, labour unions and other organisations, was expected to say as much about the drift and division in Palestinian politics as about the 74-year-old leader's standing.

Hamas's control of the Gaza Strip has forced the cancellation of an election set for January, when Abbas's term ends, and little progress has been made towards a reconciliation agreement that would allow the vote to be rescheduled. Abbas had been repeatedly confirming that he will not run for re-election, but in his opening address Tuesday he stopped shortly of stating he would leave the stage anytime soon. To the contrary, he spelled out again what he feels is needed for negotiations to resume: a halt to Israeli settlement construction and a recognition by Israel that the territory it captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war forms the basis for talks about setting a final border.

Abbas, who is under pressure from the United States and the European Union to resume talks that have been frozen for the past year, said he was not setting terms but simply reiterating Israel's obligations under the "roadmap" agreement for talks.

photo: AP