Islamic Jihad sets conditions on joining PLO

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Islamic Jihad sets conditions on joining PLO

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The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) conditioned Tuesday its joining the executive committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on changing PLO's charter that recognizes the state of Israel and the Oslo accords.

Nafez Azzam, a senior Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, told Xinhua that the current PLO and all its institutions are different from when they were established about 40 years ago.

"The PLO has changed its charter and recognized the state of Israel and all its poetical programs have been completely changed, especially after the signing of the Oslo accords with Israel," said Azzam.

He said, therefore, the Palestinians should agree on looking for an active Palestinian body "even if its name is Palestine Liberation Organization, because what our movement is interested inis the political program and the mechanism to activate it."

Azzam said that if the above conditions are available in the frame of the PLO, "we, the Islamic Jihad movement, would positively deal with the issue of joining the PLO."

"The joining the PLO is based on the minimum demand of the Palestinian people that Israel completely end its occupation of all the Palestinian territories taken by Israel in 1967," said Azzam.

He said that these territories should include the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, adding that no single settler should be staying on these territories and all settlements should de dismantled.

Palestinian factions met in Cairo two weeks ago for a dialogue on a truce with Israel, but they failed to issue a joint statement, after Hamas and Islamic Jihad said that Fatah movement and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) wanted them to authorize the PNA to hold peace talks with Israel.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian delegation is due to arrive in Gaza later on Tuesday to resume the dialogue and the mediation among all the Palestinians to reach a hudna (truce) with Israel.

Palestinian sources said that the Egyptian delegation is carrying a letter from Egyptian intelligence chief Omer Suleiman, briefing the Palestinian factions on his latest visit to the United States.

The Palestinian factions have announced that they are seeking serious American guarantees to stop Israel's killing of their leaders and end its military actions in the Palestinian territories as a precondition to declare a temporary hudna with Israel.

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