Palestinian national conference calls for rebuilding PLO

The Palestinian National Conference, a grassroots initiative seeking broad-based Palestinian unity and renewed national action in the wake of the war in Gaza, concluded in Doha on Wednesday, reaffirming its commitment to rebuilding the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Delegates emphasised the need for a unified national leadership to confront political fragmentation and external pressures.

In its final statement, the conference declared itself a sustained popular movement advocating for dialogue, political pressure, and structural reform. It called for democratic elections among Palestinians inside and outside occupied territories to reestablish the PLO on inclusive foundations.

The conference convened under challenging circumstances, including the genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, and political division within the Palestinian leadership. It was held in response to a February 2024 initiative calling for the formation of a unified leadership and a revitalized PLO.

Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, opened the conference on Monday by declaring that the initiative had represented an “unprecedented popular movement to restore Palestinian national unity and rebuild our national institutions on democratic foundations”.

“Our people have long endured occupation, division, and systematic oppression; now is the time to reclaim our national representation and take decisive action to confront the ongoing threats,” he said.

Delegates stressed the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and resistance within international law. They also condemned settlement expansion, displacement policies, and efforts to weaken the Palestinian refugee issue and UNRWA. The final statement reaffirmed the right to a fully sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and pledged support for prisoners, martyrs’ families, and those wounded in the struggle.

A major outcome was the selection of a 108-member General Body, tasked with electing a 17-member Follow-up Committee. This committee will engage Palestinian factions, including those outside the PLO, in efforts to unify leadership. The conference also approved a 100-day action plan focusing on grassroots mobilization, advocacy for prisoners’ rights, and strengthening Palestinian communities in the diaspora.

Conference president Muin Taher emphasised that “the conference is not a substitute for the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people”.

“Our fundamental slogan is towards a unified Palestinian leadership and towards rebuilding the PLO on national and democratic foundations,” he told The New Arab‘s Arabic language edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. 

“Therefore, we want to rebuild and activate the PLO, not replace it, and we have no intention of being an alternative to it. We will continue to exert pressure and take action to achieve the conference’s objectives.”

When asked if the next step would involve reaching out to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Taher said: “The Contact Committee, formed as part of the PLO rebuilding initiative and the 100-day plan, will engage with all factions in the Palestinian arena, including those not represented in the PLO.”

The Contact Committee is tasked to engage with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the PLO’s Executive Committee, aiming to set a roadmap for democratic elections and institutional reform. Recommendations included reactivating professional unions, reopening PLO membership, and launching public campaigns to demand elections.

But despite its goals of unity, the conference faced opposition from Abbas’s Palestinian Authority (PA), which prevented 33 members from travelling to Doha. Security forces blocked several delegates from leaving the West Bank and issued threats of arrest and job termination. The conference announced legal support for participants facing reprisals.

Ahmed Ghoneim, a Fatah leader and member of the Follow-up Committee for the Palestinian National Conference, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that PA officials contacted ten participants from various Palestinian regions and threatened them with arrest, passport confiscation, job termination, and salary cuts if they returned to Palestine after attending the conference.

Organisers dismissed accusations that the conference sought to replace the PLO, stating its sole purpose was to restore its national role. Participants, including prominent political figures and former prisoners, described the initiative as an urgent response to Israel’s war on Gaza and the broader Palestinian crisis.

Over the course of three days, approximately 400 delegates from across Palestine and the diaspora engaged in discussions on rebuilding Palestinian leadership. Committees presented reports on political strategy, resistance, refugee rights, and international engagement, culminating in a final set of recommendations to be pursued in the coming months.

The conference concluded with a pledge to maintain pressure for reform, mobilize Palestinian communities, and resist efforts to fragment national representation. Organizers stressed that the movement will persist until its objectives of unity, democratic representation, and a reformed PLO are achieved.

The conference placed significant emphasis on the Palestinian refugee issue, urging a reaffirmation of the right of return. It proposed a national strategy to enhance UNRWA’s services and create a Palestinian local entity to support displaced communities, funded by diaspora contributions.