Fatah reasserts Mahmoud Abbas as its head, chairman of the PLO

Ramallah: Mahmoud Abbas was unanimously supported by the Fatah party's central committee to continue as chairman of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Fatah Movement in its meeting last night in Ramallah,reports the Palestinian official news agency WAFA.

During a meeting held in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday, Abbas gained the full confidence of the Fatah central committee to take the helm of the state of Palestine.

The Central Committee meeting, chaired by President Abbas, also unanimously reasserted its confidence in committee member Azzam al-Ahmad as its representative in the PLO's Executive Committee and its member Hussein al-Sheikh are its candidate to become a member in the PLO's Executive Committee.

Abbas, 86, is the chairman of the PLO executive committee, chairman of the Fatah central committee, and the president of the state of Palestine. He was elected in January 2005 as the chairman of the Palestinian Authority.

Meanwhile, an official statement said that the Fatah central committee nominated Rawhi Fattouh, a member of the committee, to be the speaker of the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the PLO. Fattouh will succeed Salim Za'noon, 88, the current speaker.

Zanoun, one of the founders of Fatah movement, announced in a statement on Wednesday that he endorses Fattouh's nomination to replace him as speaker of the PNC, saying that he is going to leave his post the minute a new speaker is elected.

The PLO's Central Council, the second in line to the PNC in the Palestinian decision-making process, is expected to meet in Ramallah during the first week of February and approve the nominations.