Members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party staged demonstrations yesterday, urging him to run for a second term, while the rival Hamas movement quickly declared his announcement of the previous night that he would not an admission of “failure.”
Fatah organized marches after yesterday’s prayers in Ramallah and a number of other West Bank towns, in which hundreds of supporters participated, calling on the Palestinian president to reverse his decision not to seek re-election.
The movement said it was planning larger rallies later in the weekend or next week.
In a televised address from his Ramallah headquarters late on Thursday, Abbas said he did not want to seek re-election and urged the Palestinian leadership to understand his wish.
He cited a stalemate with Israel, which is preventing the revival of peace negotiations, as the reason, as well as the failure of Hamas to accept a reconciliation proposal with his Fatah party.
In a statement sent to journalists, the radical Islamist Hamas was quick to describe Abbas’ decision as “a very clear declaration of the failure of his [pro-peace negotiations] program, which has reached a dead end.”
Hamas called for a return to resistance, rather than to continue security cooperation with Israel.
The wording of Abbas’ televised speech raised speculation that his decision may not be final and could be a tactic for pushing Israel and the US toward a larger compromise.
He said only that it was his “desire not to run in the upcoming elections” which are set for January but could be delayed, extending his current term indefinitely.
Although criticized as indecisive and associated with the corruption-tainted old guard of his Fatah party, he has given free rein to his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, to reform the West Bank’s economy and boost its police, which has resulted in a limited economic upturn.
But the stalemate with Israel overshadows all, and Fatah activists say the party is in a panic, fearing a fragmented slate of candidates that would hand victory to Hamas.
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