PLO Is the Only Legitimate Representative of Palestinians, Abbas Says

Palestine Liberation Organization is the only legitimate representative of Palestinians, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas holds a joint press conference with the Turkish president after their meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on July 25, 2023. Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly said the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), of which he is the chairman, is the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Based out of the West Bank, which forms the bulk of Palestinian territories, the PLO—and by extension the most prominent faction in the organization, Fatah—stands in direct opposition to rival group Hamas, which currently rules the Gaza Strip.