Palestine: Abbas Bluffs & Wins --- January Election Postponed

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Mahmoud Abbas: “Israel Does Not Want Peace but We Do”

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On Thursday, the chairman of the Palestinian election commission, Hanna Nasser, said that the 24 January election would be postponed indefinitely due to a lack of cooperation from Hamas, "We planned to go to Gaza to figure out how we can conduct elections there. In the meantime, we received an answer from Hamas that we are not welcome in Gaza. It is clear now that we cannot hold an election in Gaza."

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, confirmed, "President Abbas will make the appropriate decision after he returns [from Jordan]. Hamas' decision to ban the election commission from working in Gaza proves that Hamas is not eager to reach national unity and reconciliation."

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri stated that opposition to the election was because it had been unilaterally declared, "Without reconciliation, there will be no election."

And so Mahmoud Abbas' bluff plays out successfully. When he announced that he would not stand again for President, bringing appeals from various quarters --- the West Bank leadership, Israel, the US --- that he stay, Abbas knew the pretext of Hamas' position could be used to postpone the democratic process. And now he remains as the leader of Palestine (West Bank) without the inconvenience that he might not have won a Presidential contest in January.

Palestine Video & Analysis: Reactions to the Election Bluff of Mahmoud Abbas

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On Thursday, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas said,"I have told our brethren in the Palestine Liberation Organization...that I have no desire to run in the forthcoming election" on 24 January.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGxXyzu2T5o[/youtube]

The head of the PLO Executive Committee, Yasser Abed Rabbo, quickly announced that the committee had rejected Abbas' announcement. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri jumped in to allege Abbas was bluffing, urging his Western friends to put pressure on Israel. Zuhri suggested an alternative course, "We advise him to...face the Palestinian people and tell them frankly that the path of negotiations has failed. Halt negotiations with the occupation and take practical steps toward reconciliation."

Israel and the US are calling on Abbas to remain in the election. Israeli president Shimon Peres told Abbas in a phone call, "If you leave the Palestinians would lose their chance for an independent state. The situation in the region would deteriorate. Stay, for the Palestinian people's sake."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "Of the existing alternatives, if we want an agreement with the Palestinians then Abbas is the best partner." Clinton subsequently asked Arab foreign ministers and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to press Abbas for a change of decision.