| Palestinian President Abbas to bow out |
| 6 November 2009 | 12:34
| Source:
EuroNews |
RAMALLAH --
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he will not stand for re-election in January’s polls.
Although Abbas has not made an official announcement, a member of the PLO’s executive committee earlier briefed the press.
The President’s own Fatah Party is urging him to keep going for the sake of all factions within the PLO.
The Coordinator for the PLO Executive Committee, Yasser Abed Rabbo, said: “The executive committee unanimously expressed its support for the President and wants him to participate in the upcoming election.”
Hamas is less supportive, calling Abbas’s decision “internal Fatah business”. They are angry at his failure to take a firm stand against Israel.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said: “The Americans and Israelis abandoned him and turned him into a tool to implement their policies. Abbas should admit that a peaceful settlement has failed.”
This is not the first time Abbas has threatened to step down. In the past, it is a tactic he has used to get support from the West. However, facing a stalemate in peace talks with Israel, he may be serious this time.
|
search b92.net
B92 live 
"You don't need to have any sentimental attachment to Europe whatsoever to understand that to tackle these problems we need the scale and clout that only Europe gives. This has nothing at all do
... 
Where does the line get drawn? The passing of Patriarch Pavle, for whom all the respect paid to his memory was and is well deserved, allowed for some rather questionable decisions on the side of the government
...
