Is the sun about to set on Abbas?

The Toronto Star carries an Associated Press article as the big mid-east story of the day which suggests that Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas has allegedly invited Hamas to make up part of his cabinet but considering that Abbas has been attempting to entice terrorists into his security forces; why not in his cabinet? My take on the situation was that cabinet posts were long on the table for Hamas once they showed a strong election returns in Gaza but Hamas officials are somewhat reluctant to get down and cozy with the PA. Can’t say I blame them, as their appeal to the Palestinian public has been based on the fact that they are not tainted with the innate corruption that runs rampant like mother’s milk in the Palestinian Authority.

Though I think the Toronto Star Mid-East bureau has dropped the ball in not reporting on two days of continuation action on the Israeli-Lebanese border and for not reporting this mid-east story of the day which I found at the Jerusalem Post:

Veteran PLO leader Farouk Kaddoumi, a staunch opponent of the Oslo Accords, has decided to move his headquarters from Tunis to the Gaza Strip after Israel evacuates the area, senior Palestinian Authority officials said on Thursday. The officials said Kaddoumi's decision came following a meeting he held in the Jordanian capital of Amman with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The two are in Amman to attend the meeting of the Fatah central committee.

In addition to Abbas and Kaddoumi, 14 other Fatah officials are participating in the three-day discussions, which began on Thursday. Abbas and Kaddoumi met on Wednesday night and agreed that Kaddoumi would move to the Gaza Strip shortly after Israel completes its withdrawal from the area, said a PA official in Ramallah. Kaddoumi is one of the few PLO leaders who refused to move to the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the signing of the Oslo Accords, which he has condemned as a sell-out to Israel.

Kaddoumi, who has openly challenged Abbas's leadership since the death of Yasser Arafat, is expected to be appointed as deputy chairman of the PA and PLO during the Fatah central committee meeting. Abbas has been under heavy pressure from many Fatah leaders to name Kaddoumi as number two in the Palestinian leadership – a move that is likely to increase his chances of succeeding Abbas in the future.

Remember the name of Farouk Kaddoumi as he will be playing a pivotal role in the future – providing the Israelis’ allow his return. Kaddoumi does not just represent a threat to Abbas’ leadership in the PLO but to his life as well. If the PLO membership is forced to a choose between Abbas and Kaddoumi there is no way that Abbas can garner enough support to stand against Kaddoumi who is a leader more in the mould of Arafat than Abbas.

Furthermore, the uncompromising position he took in not returning with Arafat under the Oslo Accord in the early 90’s has left him relatively untouched by charges of corruption and he reaped a considerable amount of respect and creditability within not only the Palestinian Authority but with Hamas and Islamic Jihad as well. In other words, he has the street creds that Abbas lacks. If I were Abbas, I would say that there is no time like the present and I would start planning my escape route out of the Occupied Territories into a relatively safe exile somewhere far away.