Palestine Inside Line: Abbas Term Extended Indefinitely

On Wednesday, the Palestine Liberation Organization indefinitely extended Mahmoud Abbas's term as Palestinian Authority President and endorsed his refusal to negotiate with Israel unless it freezes all settlement construction. The extension of the term also applies to parliament members so that the Abbas Government can continue until new elections can be held in "the entire homeland."

Hamas, which is in political control of Gaza, called the decision  "a confiscation of democracy". The organisation's spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, said, "The Central Council is not elected and illegal, and all of its decisions are illegal and not binding on our people."

The first comment from the Israeli front was "Come to the negotiating table." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev said: "We have just seen the Palestinian leadership place more and more obstacles in restarting the talks. I call upon the Palestinian side to stop making excuses and return to talks."

So, here is Abbas's welcome party! Now, there is more than the deadlock on the table for him. After using his last card, he is faced with stronger expectations for further steps! However, none of these expectations have changed!