Beirut – FiMED

Rafat Murra, head of public outreach for the Hamas movement in Lebanon, said the decision of the committee following up the Palestinian National Council elections in Lebanon to freeze its work until upcoming developments become clear reflects, in his view, the major difficulties facing the electoral process called by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

In an exclusive statement to «FiMED», Murra added that the call for elections was made, in his assessment, «unilaterally and away from national understanding», arguing that this bypasses the elements of Palestinian consensus and does not take into account, in his words, the scale of the risks and threats surrounding the electoral process and the overall Palestinian situation.

Murra described the decision to freeze the committee's work in Lebanon as «a step in the right direction», calling for it to be followed by a stage of comprehensive Palestinian national dialogue aimed at reaching an understanding on how to characterize the Palestinian situation amid Israeli attacks and threats, as well as regional and international developments.

He stressed that what is needed, in his view, is agreement on a unified Palestinian national position that preserves Palestinian principles and interests and confronts what he called Zionist projects.

Murra emphasized that Palestinian national unity, resulting from a deep and comprehensive national dialogue, must be the priority, describing it as a fundamental demand of Palestinians at home and abroad.

He concluded by saying that reaching this consensus would make the process of electing the Palestinian people's representatives «an inclusive, consensual and fruitful matter», rather than a new cause for deepening internal division and disagreement.

Murra's remarks came after the National Committee for the Palestinian National Council Elections in Lebanon decided to freeze the process of selecting Lebanon's eighteen representatives to the National Council, which had been scheduled for 4 October through an electoral college.

The committee said in a statement that the freeze represents «an opportunity that should be built upon» to handle the electoral process in a national spirit, calling for a comprehensive Palestinian dialogue including the Palestinian factions, forces, components and bodies in Lebanon.

The committee stressed that the dialogue aims to agree on a mechanism for selecting Lebanon's representatives to the National Council on democratic and participatory foundations, ensuring the participation of the various components and excluding no party.

The committee also linked the unity of the Palestinian position and the cohesion of the Palestinian arena in Lebanon to strengthening the representation of Palestinians and their national institutions, contributing to security and stability inside the camps and their Lebanese surroundings, and strengthening Palestinian-Lebanese relations.

The freeze comes after objections and questions raised in recent days about the mechanism for selecting Lebanon's representatives to the Palestinian National Council, at a time when the committee had continued its preparations to conduct the process through an electoral college comprising representatives of the relevant parties.