Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announces that elections will be held before the end of the year for the Palestinian National Council, for the first time since 2006.
The Palestinian National Council, comprising approximately 300 members, is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The body was once the sole representative of the Palestinian people internationally, but its power has been diminished with the advent of the PA as a Palestinian proto-government, and today it holds mainly symbolic internal significance.
Like the Palestinian Authority, it is dominated by the Fatah movement.
Haaretz reporter Jack Khoury notes that the announcement of new elections for the body appears to be an attempt to revive public legitimacy for the PA and the PLO, which are facing a deep crisis of popularity in the West Bank.
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