A key branch of the Palestine Liberation Organization has temporarily suspended its membership to protest the ongoing talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Press TV reported.
On Sunday, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) suspended its membership with the umbrella group, saying it would not be "a cover for policies that would devastate the national cause," the Associated Press reported.
Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas, who is also the head of PLO, resumed direct talks with Israelis in early September.
Many Palestinian groups have already abandoned hope in the US-brokered talks citing the White House's partiality in favor of the Israelis and arguing that Abbas -- whose term ended on January 9, 2009 -- does not represent most Palestinians.
For the negotiations to survive, the PA has made it imperative that Israel stop building Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian lands. Israel has withheld any such guarantees.