JERUSALEM (JTA) — The PLO extended the term of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Meeting in Ramallah, the Palesine Liberation Organization’s Central Council agreed Wednesday to keep Abbas in office until new elections can be scheduled.
His term expires Jan. 25. Palestinian elections scheduled for next month were canceled when Hamas refused to allow the vote to go forward in the Gaza Strip, which it controls.
Abbas, 74, has said he will not run for re-election.
Hamas does not recognize the extension, Al Jazeera reported.
The Central Council also agreed Wednesday that peace talks with Israel could not resume until Israel halts all building in settlements, including eastern Jerusalem.
