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By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

The young, charismatic and at times controversial leader of the Boston firefighters’ union is stepping down from his local position at the end of the month and will seek to become president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, the state fire union.

Edward A. Kelly, 36, who over five years was a labor bulldog fighting unapologetically for the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 718, will leave Florian Hall and return to duty aboard Tower Ladder 17 on Columbus Avenue, he said in an interview.

‘‘I enjoyed being the president of the local and representing the firefighters of Boston,’’ Kelly, of Dorchester, said. ‘‘It was an honor and a privilege even in the tough times. But I’m a third-generation Boston firefighter, and all I every really wanted to do was just be a firefighter, and I had to give that up to be president.’’

Tower Ladder 17 is the busiest fire truck in Boston, according to Steve MacDonald, a Fire Department spokesman.

But Kelly may be even busier than the truck soon. Robert McCarthy, the 23-year president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, recently turned 65 and is not allowed to seek another term. He will step down in January, and Kelly said he will seek his post.

‘‘I’ve worked hard for Local 718, and now I want to work hard for the state,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve devoted myself to working for firefighters in Boston, and now I plan to devote that energy to the firefighters throughout Massachusetts.’’

The vice president of Local 718, Rich Paris, will succeed Kelly. Paris inherits a 1,400-member union that recently won a multi-year arbitration agreement and a series of pay increases. Nick DiMarino, a former union president and current treasurer, will become vice president.

The arbitration award, which capped a four-year labor dispute, was Kelly’s toughest battle. The union fought with Mayor Thomas M. Menino over pay increases, benefits, and a new mandatory drug and alcohol testing policy. The arbiter’s award was then subject to scrutiny by the City Council in June.

The divisive labor war came to a close when the union, led by Kelly, and the City Council, led by President Michael P. Ross, agreed to a compromise where a particular pay raise for firefighters’ was reduced form 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent in return for agreeing to undergo drug and alcohol testing.

The argument over drug and alcohol testing came to the forefront in late 2007, after two firefighters died battling a West Roxbury restaurant blaze. Menino pressed efforts for testing and a bitter dispute with the firefighters union ensued after autopsy reports on firefighters Paul J. Cahill and Warren J. Payne showed Cahill had a blood-alcohol content of 0.27 and that Payne had traces of cocaine in his system.

‘‘The mayor respects Ed Kelly,’’ said Dot Joyce, Menino’s press secretary. ‘‘It’s a tough job that he had. He was a tough adversary.’’

Ross’s office did not return calls this afternoon seeking comment.

Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser, in an interview, said there were ‘‘no hard feelings’’ between Kelly and him throughout all the battles.

‘‘I wish Eddie the best of luck as he returns to his fire company,’’ Fraser said. ‘‘And congratulations to Rich Paris on becoming the new president of the union.’’

‘‘He did a great job for us over the last five years,’’ Paris said. ‘‘I have big shoes to fill, but I want to continue what Eddie started.’’

Kelly’s leadership was tested again in 2009 when union maintenance of fire trucks was questioned by the city after a January crash in Mission Hill killed fire Lieutenant Kevin Kelley.

But in March of this year, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and the Boston Police Department released a report that blamed Fire Department management and City Hall for a ‘‘loosey goosey’’ approach to fire truck maintenance and for having no preventative maintenance program leading up to the Mission Hill crash. The accident occurred when the truck’s brakes failed as it headed down a steep decline.

Reached by phone tonight, McCarthy, a 34-year Watertown firefighter who retired from the department as a captain in 2001, praised the man looking to succeed him.

‘‘I’ve worked with him on a daily basis for the last 16 months, and Ed Kelly is the total package,’’ McCarthy said. ‘‘He has that charisma and that unique ability. Bottom line: He is a leader.’’

John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.

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By Mohammad Ben Hussein

AMMAN – Activists on Thursday demonstrated near the headquarters of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) to protest against the resumption of direct talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Protesters held banners condemning Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories and criticised Palestinian leadership for “succumbing to pressure” and accepting to sit at the negotiating table with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hamzah Mansour, secretary general of the IAF, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, called on the Palestinians to resort to “resistance to achieve their rights”.

He accused the Palestinian Authority of “squandering the rights of Palestinians during the talks”, which kicked off in Washington on Thursday.

“Talks are being held without terms of reference or a balance of power, which means it will be in favour of Israel,” Mansour said in a speech in front of dozens of activists from the Islamist movement and professional associations.

Mansour charged that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is not a legitimate representative of the Palestinian people because “his term as a president has expired and the Palestinians do not approve him as a leader”.

“Negotiations in the past two decades showed that Israel was the only beneficiary as it was able to expand settlements and enhance its grip on the Palestinian territories by changing facts on the ground. These talks would only serve the interest of Israel,” he added.

Mansour called on the Arab League to withdraw the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for recognition of Israel in return for the establishment of a Palestinian state built on 1967 borders, on grounds that “Israel does not want peace.”

He also called on the government to implement badly needed political reform to confront what he described as the “Israel project in Jordan”, in reference to the so-called Jordan option.

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