Ball is in Palestinian court

The PLO executive committee and Fatah movement central committee started meetings in Tunis yesterday to discuss the partial agreement concluded between PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres.

These meetings came less than 24 hours after the Israeli cabinet approved the agreement and that means the ball is now in the Palestinian court.

However, nobody has the right to bid on the outcome of these meetings, the PLO is till this moment the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, recognized by all Arab countries, while Fatah is the biggest of the Palestinian movements which have been playing a key role in the just struggle of the Palestinian people more than 30 years.

Besides that, there is no doubt about Fatah's allegiance and commitment to the Palestinian cause. Therefore if it sees that the agreement between Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres will satisfy the Palestinian people's aspirations to the minimum level in the coming phase, that will be considered a great jump on the path towards a Middle East peace, regardless that some people believe that this type of a peace will not be in conformity with pan-Arab objectives in the long term.

Among these people is Farouk Qaddoumi who is one of the prominent leaders in the PLO. He will get an opportunity to express his viewpoints at the meeting.

The decision of the meeting should be approved on a majority basis. We attach great hope that the decision will be fully committed by all.

In conclusion, the decision on whether to accept the agreement is in the hands of the Palestinian leaders, the owners of the cause and decision makers, with no foreign pressure or interference.

-- Al Bayan, Dab