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Palestinian council seeks to revive Jerusalem Secretariat

Palestinians have expressed skepticism about the Palestinian Central Council’s ability to reactivate the Jerusalem Secretariat and have it work as a shadow municipal council in East Jerusalem.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives to attend the meeting of the Palestinian Central Council in the West Bank city of Ramallah January 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC1616E526F0
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RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Central Council (PCC) in Ramallah convened Jan. 14-15 and decided to reactivate the Jerusalem Secretariat.

The secretariat was the first municipal council elected in Jerusalem after the Jordanian government (the official custodian of Jerusalem's holy sites) turned the city into a secretariat in 1955. The council continued to operate until the beginning of June 1967, when Israel occupied the eastern part of Jerusalem, dissolved the body and expelled its members to Jordan, where the secretariat is currently based. The council is headed by Zaki al-Ghul, who took over the presidency after the council’s secretary-general, Ruhi al-Khatib, died in exile.

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