INTERNAL DISCORD PREVENTS FILLING VACANT PLO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001077 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA, NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/24/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV KWBG IS PTER SUBJECT: INTERNAL DISCORD PREVENTS FILLING VACANT PLO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SEATS Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Thomas M. Duffy, for reasons 1. 4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. According to senior Fatah and PLO officials, President Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen),in his capacity as Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee (ExComm), retreated from his proposal to hold a PLO Central Council (PLO CC) meeting to fill ExComm vacancies in the face of opposition from top Fatah leaders and PLO National Council (PNC) Speaker Salim Zanun. While Abbas still wants to fill the vacancies, he seems to have accepted that this will require convening the PNC, a difficult undertaking as this body rarely meets, and requires a quorum of at least 500 of its members, many of whom reside abroad, to select new PLO CC or ExComm members. Fatah opposition to Abbas' consolidating power and to the influence of Yasser Abed Rabbo were key concerns for those opposing Abbas' plan. End summary. PNC Speaker, Fatah Leaders Balk at Abbas Plan to Appoint New ExComm Members -------------- ¶2. (C) According to Fatah Revolutionary Council (FRC) members Adnan Samara and Azzam al-Ahmad and FIDA's Salah Rafat, PLO ExComm Chairman Abbas and ExComm Secretary-General Yassir Abed Rabbo were planning to call for a PLO CC session in July or August to fill vacancies on the PLO ExComm. (Note: The Central Council is a 115-member, mid-level PLO decision-making body, filling the niche between the 14-member Executive Committee (ExComm),which meets regularly, and the much larger Palestinian National Council (PNC),which has only met once (in December 1998) since 1989. Many PNC members reside abroad. All PLO ExComm members must be PLO CC members, who were elected from the PNC membership. End note). These contacts told POL FSN that in early June Abbas summoned PNC Speaker Salim Zanun from Jordan to discuss the plan to replace ExComm vacancies caused by the deaths of Yasir Arafat, Faysal Hussayni, Yasir Amr, Asa'd Abd al-Rahman and Emil Jarjui in the past six years. Contacts said Abed Rabbo told meeting participants that since convening the PNC would require such lengthy and complicated preparations as to be impractical, the PLO CC should meet to elect new members, allowing the ExComm to be more representative and effective as an executive decision-making body. ¶3. (C) Meeting participants said Zanun rejected the proposal and argued that PLO bylaws do not authorize the PLO CC to elect ExComm members, which is the sole purview of the PNC. Contacts said Zanun and Abed Rabbo engaged in heated discussion about historic precedents for the PLO CC filling in for the PNC. Abed Rabbo recalled that the PLO CC, not the PNC, endorsed the Declaration of Principles (1993) and Interim Agreement (1995) and accused Zanun of previously helping Yasir ARAFAT twist PLO bylaws whenever expedient but now attempting to undermine Abbas. (Note: Zanun left the meeting room in anger while arguing with Abed Rabbo and only returned when coaxed back by Abbas. End note). ¶4. (C) Contacts report that Abed Rabbo then suggested the PLO ExComm invoke article 14(c) of the PLO bylaws, which allow for an extraordinary PNC meeting, for which only the PLO CC and designated PA Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) members (automatically members of the PNC) need to attend. Zanun said this would be contrary to the PLO bylaws, which require a 500-member quorum for a PNC meeting regardless of whether the meeting is regular or extraordinary. Zanun said if no quorum of members convene after two calls for a PNC session, the PNC will have to convene in 30 days, even without a quorum, and in this event, the PNC will vote on naming the entire PLO ExComm, not just fill vacant ExComm slots. Fatah Heavyweights Oppose Abbas' Plan, Abed Rabbo's Perceived Influence -------------- ¶5. (C) Fatah Central Committee (FCC) members, who had discussed Abbas' proposal in the days before Zanun came to Ramallah, also reacted negatively. Several FCC members, including Hakam Bala'wi, Tayib Abed al-Rahim and Hani al-Hasan (all PLO CC members but not the ExComm) all rejected the proposal, citing concerns over Abed Rabbo's influence over PLO affairs and his "illegal" appointment by Abbas to the position of ExComm Secretary-General without PNC election to this post. (Note: Abbas previously held the Secretary-General position, the second highest ExComm post, which is authorized to run PLO business in the Chairman's absence, under previous ExComm Chairman Yasir Arafat. Abbas appointed Abed Rabbo to the Secretary-General position in JERUSALEM 00001077 002 OF 002 2006 with the ExComm's concurrence, but several PLO CC and PNC members contend that the appointment is invalid as it was not approved by PLO CC or PNC vote. End note). Abbas Backs Down -------------- ¶6. (C) At the end of his meeting with Zanun, Abbas said he will follow PLO bylaws and, and revoked his proposal to hold a meeting of the PLO CC to fill ExComm vacancies. According to Adnan Samara, Salah Rafat and Azzam al-Ahmad, the Abbas/Abed Rabbo proposal is "put to rest" for now, but pressure to fill ExComm seats remains. They also said many Fatah leaders and smaller PLO factions want to convene the PNC, but said they do not expect this to happen anytime soon due to the difficulty in assembling a quorum of PNC members. DUFFY