Palestinian President not to run for PLO leadership

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who chairs the Fatah movement, does not intend to run in the presidential elections of the Palestine Liberation Organization, or PLO, scheduled to be held in two weeks, officials from Fatah said on Tuesday.

“Abu Mazen(Abbas)said that he wants to give a space for other factions to participate. We asked him to think again, especially in this hard and serious period, and amid the effort by some people to get rid of him,” secretarygeneral of the Fatah Revolutionary Council Amin Maqbul told Ma’an news agency.

PLO officials, who requested anonymity, confirmed to EFE that Abbas will not stand in the upcoming election during the meeting that will take place midSeptember in Ramallah.

Established in 1964, the PLO is the organization that represents Palestinian interests worldwide and raises the Palestinian cause in international bodies until receiving full recognition of the Palestinian state in the U.N. General Assembly in 2012.