Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to resign, dismantle the Authority and leave the Territories, the London-based A Sharq al Awsat reported Wednesday.
Abbas made the statements during a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who requested that he use his authority to help free Cpl. Gilad Shalit. Abbas responded that he no longer had any authority. Abbas had accused Israel Tuesday of military escalation in the Gaza Strip, saying Israeli forces were targeting civilians and worsening Palestinian hardship.
"The situation is extremely difficult," he told reporters in Amman following talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit. "The Israelis are continuously escalating. They are targeting civilians on the one side and the infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority on the other," said Abbas.
Abbas, who was on an impromptu visit to brief Jordanians on the situation in Gaza, later met with Jordan's King Abdullah II. In the meeting, Abdullah pledged again to "work tirelessly, and in cooperation with all international sides, to ensure the cessation of [Israeli] military operations and ease the tragic situation faced by Palestinians," according to a statement by the king's office. "Returning to the peace process is now an imperative in order to get out of the current crisis," the king told Abbas, according to the statement.
Perhaps the real agenda behind the impromptu meeting was to arrange a safe passage or exile? Frankly, I am surprised that Abbas has lasted as long as he has, though I would say his future as leader of the Palestinian Authority will last only as long as American pressure can keep him propped up. It is becoming increasingly clearer and clearer that he has very limited authority or clout among the Palestinians and his life is only holding on by a shoestring.
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