Abbas' resignation rumors intensify
Recent dismissals and appointments among the Palestinian leadership have reignited rampant speculation that President Mahmoud Abbas intends to resign and that the personnel changes are harbingers of who will succeed him.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Leaked information that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas allegedly intends to resign and about the identity of his successor has grabbed Palestinians’ attention anew. Abbas has been insisting for some time now that he will not run again to head the Palestinian Authority whenever elections are eventually held, but he has also not appointed a vice president, who would be his likely successor. According to Palestinian law, presidential elections should be held every four years, but the last contest took place in 2005.
On July 26, Israeli Channel 1 quoted close Abbas associates as saying that they expected him to resign in September. In response to the possibility of Abbas' resignation, a PA source speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity cryptically stated that Abbas has “threatened to take unexpected decisions without disclosing the nature or timing of those decisions.”
