With Abbas sidelined, Israeli-Palestinian conflict enters new territory
(Worthy News) – It is unlikely coincidental that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas this weekend restated a call for “popular resistance” against Israel, as the PA boss, back up against the wall, is seen by critics as having resorted to the often-used tactic of deflecting blame away from his own shortcomings and onto the “occupation.”
Increasingly, observers opine that Abbas’ actions appear driven by his marginalization, with the Trump administration last week having expressed an unprecedented willingness to bypass the PA altogether if it means enhancing the security and economic prospects in the Gaza Strip. Ramallah’s relations with Washington reached a nadir when the Palestinian leader imposed a boycott on American officials following President Donald Trump’s recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Abbas has on numerous occasions since rejected out-of-hand the White House’s yet-unveiled peace proposal.
The cold hard truth may be setting in: namely, that Abbas is nearing the end of his road without having made much tangible progress towards achieving statehood for his people. To the contrary, the Palestinians arguably are divided more than ever between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which effectively constitute distinct and competing entities. Now, Abbas is publicly being accused of torpedoing the potential Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal possibly out of fear of being further sidelined; this, at a time when growing anger is being directed at the Palestinian chief, including rare protests in Ramallah.