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Notable senior figures are set to boycottÌýa ÌýCentral Council meetingÌýon the grounds that it will "further deepen divisions",Ìý°®Âþµº's Arabic editionÌýAl-Araby Al-JadeedÌýreported on Saturday.

The meetings were set to take place on Sunday and Monday in , the occupied West Bank. The outcome would see potential successors to 86-year-old ÌýamidÌýinternal divisions among Palestinians.

Discussions around electing executive committee secretary general were also said to take place, as the position wasÌýyet to be filled following the death of from coronavirus complications in November last year.

Prominent Palestinian figureÌýÌýannounced her decision to not participate in the meeting in a letter addressed to the Palestinian National Council Chairman Salim Zanoun.

رسالتي إلى رئاسة المجلس المركزي حول اعتذاري عن حضور جلسة المجلس ٦-٧ شباط ٢٠٢٢.

— Hanan Ashrawi (@DrHananAshrawi)

"I regret to inform you of my decision not to participate in the session of the Central Council [...] due to non-compliance with the internal regulations of the Palestine Liberation Organization,"ÌýAshrawi, a former PLO executive committee member and activist, said in her letter.

also said that the Council "suffers from marginalisation" and a "lack of participation in decision-making", which motivated her decision to withdraw.

"The Palestinian political system needsÌýreformÌý[...] toÌýinclude the participation of young people, both women and men," she added.

Other senior Palestinian figures to boycott the meetingÌýincluded central council members Ihsan Salem, Hassan Khreisheh and Taysir Al-Zabri, who announced their decision in a press conference in Ramallah.

The central council is the legislative body of the , whichÌýelects its executive committee. It is also responsible for drafting the policies and programs for the PLO.

The council is currently comprised of 141 members and was once regarded a seminal event in Palestinian politics.