An official Palestinian Authority (PA) source reported today that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas "insists" he will not run in the upcoming balloting for leadership of the authority. Abbas is expected to give a speech Thursday night confirming rumors that he does not plan to run for reelection, meaning his five-year term as PA leader will come to an end in January.
Fatah has not promoted any other official as a potential candidate, and officials who announced Abbas's retirement did not indicate any individual as a possible replacement for the PA chief.
Among those who confirmed Abbas's plans were Sultan Aboul Enein, who spoke to PA media on Thursday, and two senior members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, who spoke to Reuters.
Fatah members attributed Abbas's apparent decision to step down to the freeze in Israel-PA negotiations. Talks stopped months ago as Abbas demanded a complete end to construction in Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria and in many Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem as a precondition for dialogue.
In late October, Israeli media reported that Abbas had threatened to quit in messages sent to United States President Barack Obama. The PA chairman accused the U.S. of abandoning him, according to the report, which was denied by PA spokesmen.