Khalida Jarrar, a member of the political bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), said in an interview with Al-Monitor that the gateway to resolving the contentious issue of Palestinian reconciliation and electing a new president lies in revitalizing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and holding democratic elections.
Jarrar, also a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), was arrested by Israel on April 2, 2015, on 12 charges, including belonging to a banned organization, the PFLP, and incitement to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Palestinian civil rights organizations tried to keep Jarrar's case in the international spotlight, maintaining contact with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the European Parliament, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Amnesty International. She was released June 3.
In a phone interview from her residence in Ramallah, Jarrar said that Israel aims for the Palestinians to have much less than autonomous rule and that the Palestinians will not accept calls for the establishment of a confederation with Jordan or the annexation of Gaza by Egypt. Instead, they will continue to press their legitimate demand for an end to the Israeli occupation.
The text of the interview follows:
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