Closing Celebration of Abu Mazen

Jun 20, 2022 12:04 pm

Adapted from Israel Today
Mahmoud Abbas has dealt with four prime ministers and seven defense ministers during his 17-year reign as President of the Palestinian Authority. However, this does not indicate the durability of Abu Mazen's standing nor the authority headed by him.

(Israel) prefers Abbas as he is "the lesser of two evils." It believes that he is so much better than Hamas reaching power, and a desirable partner in efforts to preserve the status quo in Judea and Samaria.

Abu Mazen stands at the helm of the authority that rolls billions of dollars, some of which are lost in the pockets of senior officials and those close to him.

In the Authority's organs work tens of thousands, who and their families are related to Abbas' survival. Israel also knows that the economic calm is also translated into security calm. Hence its interest is not only in the survival of the Authority, but also in its prosperity.

Abu Mazen's health status gives the signal to start the race for succession, spearheaded by Hussein al-Sheikh, who was recently appointed Secretary of the Executive Committee at PLO. It is also spearheaded by the head of Palestinian intelligence, Majid Faraj, as well as Mahmoud Al-Aloul, the vice-president of Fatah. Besides these two, Mohammad Dahlan, as well as Marwan Barghouti, who has been in Israeli prison for many years.

The positions of the Palestinians under Abu Mazen's reign is in its worst state, but the fear among the Palestinian public is that his departure will be much worse. Currently, there is no speech taking place about the path to peace nor about the road to building a modern and sound State. Hence, the real fear lies behind the internal conflicts between competitors for Abu Mazen's caliphate that could lead to a loss of control and chaos.

This is the scenario that should male Israel worried. But the truth is that Abu Mazen and his comrades are not part of the solution, they are part of the problem. The key is not in Ramallah. The key is in Al-Quds. Unfortunately, Israel refrains from thinking outside the box and from seeking a lasting solution to this challenge. It prefers to preserve what exists.

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