My first reaction was WHO CARES?
Related: Palestinians Need New President
I guess they will be getting one, huh?
"he was merely venting frustration.... the speech seemed designed to leave options open"
Maybe not.
So the rest of this article is just junk propaganda as the war-criminal siege and daily affronts to Palestinians continues while the Zionist paper is concerned with "politics," huh, MSM?
PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTT!
"Abbas says he will not seek reelection; Cites dismay over progress of peace talks" by Howard Schneider, Washington Post | November 6, 2009
JERUSALEM - President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, citing dismay over the progress of US-brokered peace initiatives, said yesterday that he does not want to run for reelection when his term ends in January, potentially upending the Obama administration’s strategy for the region.
This after he helped kill it by knuckling under to USrael!
Abbas’s announcement follows months of failed attempts by the United States to restart direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. A weekend trip to the region by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accentuated the impasse, as the United States announced it was scaling back expectations, and Palestinians charged there was a growing pro-Israeli tilt to US policy....
Yeah, read Clinton Caves For Israel for the startling remarks.
Also see: The USraeli Position on Palestine
Do you really think Arabs are that stoo-pid, Hillary?
Such a move would throw an already chaotic Palestinian political system into full disarray. But advisers and analysts said it was possible he was merely venting frustration over a dialogue with the United States and Israel that has undercut him politically without any marked progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state....
The speech seemed designed to leave options open while exerting pressure on Israel and the Obama administration....
That statement makes you want to laugh -- as if Palestinian pressure could get USrael to do anything.
There has BEEN PRESSURE for DECADES and LOOK WHERE WE ARE -- and I am NOT LAUGHING at all about THAT!!
Abbas' political standing has declined as decisions made in consultation with the United States proved unpopular locally while still failing to produce anticipated Israeli concessions.
Related: Hamas Repels Israeli Invasion
Abass drilled the stake into the PA heart with his capitulation to USrael on the war crimes issue -- and he was already unpopular before that!
He added that he was particularly surprised in recent days when Clinton praised Israel....
I think we all were a bit stunned by the back-flips she did for them. I knew this government was a slavish puppet, but the public display of it was obscene!
Abbas warned that Arab anger over Israeli home demolitions in Jerusalem and recent clashes near the Al Aqsa mosque threatened a “religious war.’’
Related: Israel Trying to Provoke Palestinians
And WHO WANTS another WAR in the region?
Clinton, asked about Abbas’s announcement, said that during a recent meeting with him “we talked about his own political future. I look forward to working with President Abbas in any new capacity.’’
*********************
Abbas’s speech followed a day in which Palestinian officials and political organizations lobbied him to reconsider a decision he has been mulling for at least several days. Abbas was given a strong endorsement yesterday by the Palestinian Liberation Organization central committee, which rejected his possible retirement. Palestinian television then displayed a long montage of fawning video footage. Local press also reported calls from Egyptian, Jordanian, and other officials to persuade him to remain in office.
Please stay, please! Pretty please!
Pfffft!
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Notice how ISRAEL'S WAR CRIMES were only vaguely referred to -- if at all?
Update:
The death knell endorsement!
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Of course, it is USraeli demands that LED HIM THERE, but.... chutzpah!
FLASHBACK:
Just some things the Globe left out when they picked up the WaPo "update."
RAMALLAH, West Bank --A succession battle that could play into the hands of his rival, the militant Hamas....
Fatah activists say the party is in a panic, fearing a fragmented slate of candidates that would hand victory to Hamas....
Fatah could lose the election.
Like they DID BEFORE?
If that happened, the international community would have no one to deal with but Hamas....
:-)
But it also could boost the prospects of a popular candidate who reportedly wants to run for the presidency from his Israeli prison cell....
So that is the USraeli back-up, 'eh?
The most attractive candidate to replace 74-year-old Abbas would likely be Marwan Barghouti, 49, who was jailed for life in 2002 for his involvement in fatal Palestinian attacks.
So what, he will SERVE HIS TERM from an ISRAELI JAIL?
Actually, when you come to think about THEY ALL ARE, whether in an Israeli prison or Gaza and the West Bank.
Activists say Barghouti, the top West Bank Fatah official until his arrest, is determined to run from prison. The charismatic Palestinian was once a favorite of Israeli peace activists but turned increasingly militant. His refusal to recognize the Israeli court's right to try him, and his defiant gestures and smiles for the cameras, heightened his popularity among Palestinians.
He ran for president from his cell in 2004 but withdrew under pressure from Fatah leaders. This time, associates say, he is determined to stay in the contest. Barghouti's incarceration could work both for and against him. It might be difficult for him to campaign from a jail cell, but his nomination could force his release....
Yeah, RIGHT!
That is up to ISRAEL, isn't it, and IF THEY DID THAT the word TOOL comes to mind!
In case Abbas steps down, Fatah insiders are promoting Nasser al-Qidwa, 50, as a candidate. He has served as the Palestinian representative at the U.N., is not linked with the corruption that bedevils the party, and has the additional benefit of being Arafat's nephew.
Another potential candidate is Mohammed Dahlan, 48, a one-time Fatah strongman in Gaza. He was recently elected to the top Fatah policy-making body, but he is blamed by many for losing Gaza to Hamas, and is tainted by allegations of corruption.
Do you know who he is, readers?
Where in the world is Fatah's strongman Dahlan?
"Dahlan, a former Palestinian Authority security commander and a top Fatah leader, has been working with the US and Israel to undermine Hamas and remove it from power."
Yeah, that Hamas' "violent overthrow" was actually the DEFEAT of a COUP ATTEMPT!
Yeah, the NEW FACE of FATAH, huh?
Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu said he didn't believe Abbas really meant to step down. "His speech wasn't for the Palestinians alone," he said. "It was for the United States and the international community, so they will give him more support in the elections."
Yeah, they saw through it right away!
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