RAMALLAH, August 3, 2017 (WAFA) - The Speaker of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) Salim Zanoun said Thursday that no date has yet been set for a PNC meeting.

Zanoun denied in an interview with Voice of Palestine radio that a session for the PNC, the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), has been scheduled for September.

He said that contacts are still underway to convene a session for the PNC, expressing hope that these contacts will be successful in convening a meeting.

He pointed out to contacts by Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad with Hamas in order to overcome any obstacle that may get in the way of holding a meeting for the National Council.

He said he hopes both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who are not members in the PLO, will participate in the meeting.

The PNC is expected to elect a new PLO Executive Committee and take other important decisions on the future of the Palestinian drive to independence.

President Mahmoud Abbas said that once Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, allows the Palestinian reconciliation government to run Gaza affairs, there will be presidential and legislative elections, as well as elections for a new PNC that may include Hamas and the Islamic Jihad for the first time.

M.K.