Hamas joins PLO committee, paving way for possible membership

Dec 22, 2011, 17:09 GMT

Gaza - Paving the way for possible membership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hamas on Thursday joined a committee aimed at reforming the umbrella organization of Palestinian groups.

'Hamas has become part of the temporary committee that will from now prepare reforming the PLO, until general elections are held,' Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoom said in a statement.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas chaired the first meeting of the committee on Thursday in Cairo. It is the first attempt in years to reform the PLO.

Representatives of all Palestinian groups, including those who are not members of the organization such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group, attended the meeting.

Both factions have indicated they wish to become members of the PLO, but neither recognizes Israel, a commitment the PLO confirmed in 1993 with the signing of an interim peace agreement with Israel.

It is unclear how a formula to allow these groups to join the PLO will be found.

A plan to reform the PLO was agreed to on May 4, when Abbas' Fatah movement and Hamas announced a unity deal intended to end their rivalry.

The Egyptian-brokered agreement aims to restore Palestinian political unity, after a rift that started in June 2007, when Hamas routed pro-Abbas forces in the Gaza Strip and seized control of the enclave.

The events of June 2007 left the Palestinian territories politically divided, with a Hamas administration running the Gaza Strip, and an Abbas-appointed government governing the West Bank.

Reforming the PLO is necessary to oversee implementation of the May deal, via a committee that will run the organization until elections for the PLO's parliament, known as the National Council, are held next year.

Read more about Palestine