Abbas says he does not want to stand for election

PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT Mahmoud Abbas last night said he does “not desire to stand” in the presidential election scheduled for January 24th next year. Earlier in the day he told top bodies in the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Fatah that a new candidate should be found and that he does not want to debate his decision.

While members of his Fatah faction protested in Ramallah, Mr Abbas received appeals to change his mind from the presidents of Israel, Egypt and the Jordanian king.

Selecting a new Fatah nominee could be difficult. The only serious alternative who has charisma and credibility is Marwan Barghouti, head of Fatah’s youth wing who was sentenced by an Israeli court to five life terms of imprisonment. Other possible candidates, including US-backed Palestinian Authority premier Salam Fayyad, are likely to be defeated by de facto prime minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas if the movement reverses its decision to boycott elections for president and parliament.

Mr Abbas hinted that he might reconsider if the international community launches substantive negotiations which would lead to the creation of a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza; a “just solution” for Palestinian refugees; equitable sharing of water; release of Palestinian prisoners; and removal of Israeli settlements from occupied Palestinian territory.

He also reiterated his support for the “two-state solution” involving the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel. Although this is the option favoured by most Palestinians, negotiator Saeb Erekat said it is about time the Palestinian Authority “is honest” with its people. He said the “two-state” solution is doomed. Israeli settlement activity renders this impossible. Therefore, the only option is the “one-state solution”, a bi-national state in geographic Palestine where citizens would have equal rights. While an increasing number of influential Palestinians agree with Dr Erekat, Israel sees the bi-national state as a threat because Palestinians, who have a higher birthrate than Israeli Jews, are expected to form a majority by 2016. Dr Erekat blamed the US for the demise of the “two-state solution.”

“If the US administration cannot compel Israel to halt construction of settlements, who will believe that it will be able to compel Israel to withdraw to the borders of June 4th, 1967, to withdraw from East Jerusalem, and to resolve the issue of the [Palestinian] refugees according to UN resolutions?” He observed that in May US president Barack Obama told Mr Abbas that a two-state deal within 24 months was a “US higher interest” and expressed dismay that the administration has not compelled Israel to meet its commitments under the 2003 road map.

Political turmoil on the Palestinian front coincided with a decla- ration by Lebanon’s Hizbullah movement that arms on a ship seized by Israel were not destined for its military wing. “Hizbullah categorically denies any link to the weapons that the Zionist enemy claims it removed from the vessel Francop. At the same time it condemns Israeli piracy in international waters.” Israel, which contends that the vessel was carrying 500 tonnes of Iranian arms, has offered no proof that the weapons were meant for Hizbullah.