Edward Abington Jr.

{{Short description|American consul (born 1943)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Edward Abington Jr.

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| office = U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem

| president = Bill Clinton

| term_start = 1993

| term_end = 1997

| predecessor = Molly Williamson

| successor = John E. Herbst

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1943|03|04}}

| birth_place = Lubbock, Texas, U.S.

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| alma_mater = University of Florida, Gainesville

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Edward Gordon Abington Jr. (born March 4, 1943) served as U.S. consul general in Jerusalem from 1993–1997. His posting coincided with the Oslo peace process. Abington was the key U.S. contact with Yasser Arafat and saw Arafat over 200 times from 1994 to early 1997.{{Cite web|url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1997/01/27/1997_01_27_028_TNY_CARDS_000377668|title=The Quiet American|date=20 January 1997}} Abington has a daughter, Alex, whom he used to bring on trips to visit the Arafat family. He also served as deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, United States Department of State.

In 1999, Abington, working at Bannerman & Associates, became an adviser and lobbyist to the Palestinian Authority. The initial contract was $2.25 million for three years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2001/08/27/on-the-palestinians-pr-front/|title=On the Palestinians' PR front}} After Hamas defeated Fatah in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, Abington consulted only for President Mahmoud Abbas. That latter lobbying relationship ended in January 2007.{{Cite web|url=http://www.forward.com/articles/11001/|title = As Hamas-Fatah Struggle Gains Steam, P.A. Loses Its D.C. Voice}}

From 2007–2008, Abington was a witness for the defense in the U.S. government's prosecution of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.{{cite web| url = http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/11/behind-the-scenes-the-cias-pro.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081116052614/http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/11/behind-the-scenes-the-cias-pro.html| archive-date = 2008-11-16| title = CRIME Blog {{!}} The Dallas Morning News}}