Damascus: 10 Palestinian groups to meet shortly in preparation for national conference

Leaders of Palestinian organizations that oppose the Oslo and Wye agreements will meet in Damascus on Thursday to hold a plenary meeting including key Palestinian figures from Syria, Jordan and Lebanon to prepare for convening a national conference on December 15, the date which was set by the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to convene the Palestinian council in the presence of the US President Bill Clinton in order to cancel items in the Palestinian national charter.

The leaders of the ten Palestinian factions together with another 20 independent figures held last week a meeting "to reach a formula preventing the amendment of the charter." It was the first meeting which comprised the two secretaries general of the People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine, George Habash and Secretary General of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestinian, Nayef Hawatmeh, besides leaders of the National Forces Coalition from which the two leftist organizations were expelled because of their relations with the Palestinian government.

Chairman of the Palestinian National Salvation Front, Khaled al-Fahoum, told the London-based al-Hayat daily that he addressed invitations to more than 20 intellectuals and economists from Jordan, Syria and Lebanon to attend Thursday's meeting.

He added that the national conference "will elect a national council from the homeland and the diaspora and then an executive committee will be elected and a new central council, as well."

Al-Fahoum went on, "I have asked our brothers in Syria to host the meeting in Damascus. They promised to give the answer, which I think will be positive, next week."