Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) dismissed reports of secret negotiations with Israeli officials in London as "baseless". In a statement released Sunday, Fatah spokesman, Osama al-Qawasmi said, "The movement has fixed stances towards negotiations with Israel." Qawasmi also called those who distort the movement's image to be more cautious and accurate. This came in response to a statement released by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) that claimed Palestinian Authority representatives had met secretly in London with Israeli officials in late 2016. The PFLP statement named the negotiations "alternative course. The statement warned the Palestinian Authority against the consequences of continuing the path of tampering, eluding and concealing details of the secret meetings with Israel. It added such reports undermine the efforts of the international movement to boycott Israel and betray struggles of thousands who call for the isolation of the Jewish state and suing it at international courts. "We want an immediate answer to the report that was issued about the meetings with Israeli delegations in late 2016," the statement read. The controversial meetings were revealed by Israeli and British media outlets. They announced the London meetings were an alternative to the public negotiations between both sides. Qawasmi added the reports lacked the minimum degree of accuracy and decency when dealing with Palestinian national affairs. "The position of the Palestinian leadership, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas is clear, consistent and has never changed over the past years, especially with regard to the file of negotiations, which has been stalled for many years," he added. Palestinian-Israeli negotiations officially stalled in April 2014, after Israel refused to halt settlements and release Palestinian prisoners who had spent long terms at Israeli jails.
