Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas re-elected as chairman of PLO Executive Committee

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was re-elected as chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) early Friday.

The expected reappointment of Abbas came at the end of a four-day meeting by the Palestinian National Council (PNC) in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The PNC chose a new Executive Committee, the most senior body of the PLO.

It is the first PNC meeting since 2009, which aims to discuss Palestinian ties with Israel and the United States, as well as the internal Palestinian situation.

The PNC convened in the city of Ramallah on April 30 to discuss, among other things, US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a policy change that has outraged the Palestinians.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) talks to the press together with Federica Mogherini, EU high representative for foreign policy, prior to a meeting at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, January 22, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

In a letter obtained by Reuters to PNC speaker Saleem al-Zanoun, 109 legislators, including independents and delegates from Hamas and the mainstream Fatah faction, had urged the session’s postponement.

Political analysts in Gaza said a PNC meeting without wide factional representation weakened the legitimacy of any decisions it may take.

Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Abbas, said it was "a strong message to the whole world that the Palestinian people are committed to their right to establish their independent state."

With the re-election, Abbas will remain in the role he has held since 2005.