Palestinian Left-Wing Factions Forge New Democratic Alliance

In Ramallah and Gaza City, five left-wing Palestinian factions have announced the formation of a united front named the Palestinian Democratic Alliance. The alliance was formed with the culmination of meetings between the constituent organizations that commenced in August 2016.

According to last Friday’s weekend edition of Al-Ittihad, the daily newspaper of the Communist Party of Israel (CPI), the alliance was formed to serve as a political body capable of putting an end to both the Palestinian division and the political dominance of the two main political movements, Fatah and Hamas.

The alliance’s member organizations include the communist Palestinian People’s Party (PPP); the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP); the Palestinian Democratic Party (PDP); the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI); as well as a number of independent public figures such as Mamdouh al-Akr and Omar Assaf.

Khaled Mansour, a member of both the political bureau of the PPP and the founding committee of the Palestinian Democratic Alliance, said that the latter’s activities would be launched in early 2019 with mass rallies in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The public will also be called upon to participate in peaceful marches tol protest Israel’s attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Mansour said that the alliance has prepared a political and social program that addresses a number of key issues related to Palestinian society and which aims at reactivating the institutions of the PLO and ending the internal political division, while at the same time defending the rights of Palestinian civilians in light of oppression by the respective ruling authorities in Gaza and the West Bank.

According to the alliance, “The PLO is the sole representative of the Palestinian people.” The alliance will be active in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and its offices hold regular meetings in order to coordinate its political efforts.

The political and social program of the Palestinian Democratic Alliance (in Arabic): http://hadfnews.ps/post/49502/