Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Rida Abbas{{Cite web |title=Who is Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president - and why does he matter? |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/explainer-who-mahmoud-abbas-profile-palestine-authority |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en |date=22 May 2024}} was born on 15 November 1935{{Cite web |url=http://www.president.ps/eng/officialresume.aspx |title=Biography of the President |date=2016 |website=President of the State of Palestine |access-date=26 January 2020 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330020535/http://president.ps/eng/officialresume.aspx |url-status=dead }} in Safed, in the Galilee region of Mandatory Palestine (now Israel).{{cite encyclopedia |last=Sela |first=Avraham |author-link=Avraham Sela |encyclopedia=The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East |title=Abbas, Mahmud |date=2002 |publisher=Continuum |location=New York |isbn=978-0-82641-053-5 |page=11}} His family fled to Syria during the 1948 Palestine war. Before going to Egypt, Abbas graduated from the University of Damascus, where he studied law.{{cite web|title=Mahmoud Abbas Fast Facts|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/12/04/world/meast/mahmoud-abbas---fast-facts/index.html|work=CNN|date=4 December 2012 |access-date=3 September 2024}}

Abbas later entered graduate studies at the Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow, where he earned a Candidate of Sciences degree{{cite book |first=David |last=Seddon |title=A Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qmYMy1Ls8ucC&pg=PA1 |access-date=28 August 2011 |year=2004 |location=London, UK |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-85743-212-1 |pages=1–2}} (the Soviet equivalent of a PhD). His doctoral dissertation was The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/170686/mahmoud-abbas-still-a-holocaust-denier |title=Sorry, New York Times: Abbas Is Still A Holocaust Denier |first=Yair |last=Rosenberg |date=27 April 2014 |magazine=Tablet |access-date=3 September 2024}}

He is married to Amina Abbas, and together they had three sons. The eldest, Mazen Abbas, ran a building company in Doha and died in Qatar of a heart attack in 2002 at the age of 42.{{cite news |url=https://www.albawaba.com/news/eldest-son-plo-no-2-dies |title=Eldest son of PLO no. 2 dies |date=16 June 2002 |work=Al Bawaba |access-date=3 September 2024}} The kunya of Abu Mazen means "father of Mazen." Their second son is Yasser Abbas, a Canadian businessman who was named after former PA leader Yasser Arafat.{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/PA-officials-scandalized-at-disclosure-by-Abbass-son-of-vast-personal-fortune |title=PA officials scandalised at disclosure by Abbas's son of vast personal fortune |first=Khaled |last=Abu Toameh |date=16 April 2009 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=3 September 2024}} The youngest son is Tareq, a business executive. Abbas has eight grandchildren, six of whom are part of the Seeds of Peace initiative bringing them in touch with young Israelis.{{cite web |url=http://thewisdomdaily.com/why-palestinia-president-mahmoud-abbas-grandchildren-give-him-hope/ |title=Why Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Grandchildren Give Him Hope |first=Irwin |last=Kula |author-link=Irwin Kula |date=25 September 2013 |website=The Wisdom Daily |access-date=26 January 2020}}

In the mid-1950s, Abbas became heavily involved in underground Palestinian politics, joining a number of exiled Palestinians in Qatar, where he was Director of Personnel in the emirate's Civil Service. While there in 1961, he was recruited to become a member of Fatah, founded by Yasser Arafat and five other Palestinians in Kuwait in the late 1950s.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/behindmyth00andr |url-access=registration |last1=Gowers |first1=Andrew |first2=Tony |last2=Walker |title=Behind the Myth: Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Revolution |year=1991 |location=New York |publisher=Olive Branch Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/behindmyth00andr/page/65 65] |isbn=978-0-940793-86-6}} At the time, Arafat was establishing the groundwork of Fatah by enlisting wealthy Palestinians in Qatar, Kuwait, and other Gulf States.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

According to Abu Daoud, part of the funds raised by Abbas were used, without the latter's knowledge, to implement the 1972 Munich massacre.{{cite book |last=Schanzer |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Schanzer |title=State of Failure: Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Unmaking of the Palestinian State |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnHyx6cO3F0C&q=Munich&pg=PT95 |date=29 October 2013 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-137-36564-4 |page=95}} He was among the first members of Fatah to call for talks with moderate Israelis, doing so in 1977. In a 2012 interview, he recalled, "[...] because we took up arms, we were in a position to put them down with credibility."{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2126097,00.html |title=The Stateless Statesman |first=Karl |last=Vick |date=15 October 2012 |magazine=TIME |access-date=26 January 2020}}

In 1977, Abbas called for the repatriation of Arab Jews to their countries of origin, receiving the approval of Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, and Sudan.{{cite web |last1=Abbas |first1=Mahmoud |title=Stages in the Life of the President |url=https://www.president.ps/eng/general.aspx?id=99 |website=Mahmoud Abbas – President of the State of Palestine |publisher=State of Palestine |access-date=24 December 2023}}

Abbas has performed diplomatic duties, presenting a moderating contrast to the PLO's "revolutionary" policies. Abbas was the first PLO official to visit Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War in January 1993 to mend fences with the Gulf countries after the PLO's support of Iraq during the Persian Gulf War strained relations. In the Oslo I Accord, Abbas was the signatory for the PLO on 13 September 1993. He published a memoir, Through Secret Channels: The Road to Oslo (1995).{{cite book |last=Abbas |first=Mahmoud |date=1995 |title=Through Secret Channels: The Road to Oslo |location=Reading, UK |publisher=Garnet Publishing |isbn=978-1-85964-047-0}}

In 1995, he and Israeli negotiator Yossi Beilin wrote the Beilin–Abu Mazen agreement, which was meant to be the framework for a future Israeli–Palestinian peace deal.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

It emerged in September 2016 that Abbas may have once worked for the KGB, as early as 1985 in Damascus, according to a document uncovered in the Mitrokhin Archive, where he is registered as agent "Krotov". Palestinian officials replied that at the time in question, the PLO collaborated with Moscow, and that Abbas was their liaison man in the Palestinian-Soviet friendship foundation.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/08/world/middleeast/mahmoud-abbas-israel-palestine-kgb.html |title=Soviet Document Suggests Mahmoud Abbas Was a K.G.B. Spy in the 1980s |first=Peter |last=Baker |date=7 September 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=26 January 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://slon.ru/posts/73194 |title=Аббас, он же Кротов. Как глава Палестины оказался агентом КГБ |trans-title=Abbas, he is Krotov. How the leader of Palestine turned out to be an agent of the KGB |first=Mikhail |last=Tishchenko |date=8 September 2016 |website=Slon.ru |language=ru |access-date=13 September 2016}}

File:sharon bush abbas.jpg and George W. Bush in Aqaba, Jordan, 4 June 2003. ]]

By early 2003, as Israel and the United States refused to negotiate with Yasser Arafat, it was thought that Abbas would be a candidate for the kind of leadership role envisaged by both countries. As one of the few remaining founding members of Fatah, he had some degree of credibility within the Palestinian cause, and his candidacy was bolstered by the fact that other high-profile Palestinians were for various reasons not suitable (the most notable, Marwan Barghouti, was a prisoner in Israeli jail after having been convicted on charges of being responsible for multiple murders by an Israeli court). Abbas's reputation as a pragmatist garnered him favor with the West and some members of the Palestinian legislature. Under international pressure, on 19 March 2003, Arafat appointed Abbas Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. According to Gilbert Achcar, the United States imposed Abbas on Arafat, the democratically elected leader, though the majority of Palestinians thought of Abbas as a Quisling.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FNIchn0jJMC&pg=PA44 |title=Eastern Cauldron: Islam, Afghanistan and Palestine in the Mirror of Marxism |last=Achcar |first=Gilbert |author-link=Gilbert Achcar |date=2004 |location=London, UK |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=978-0-7453-2203-2 |page=44}}

A struggle for power between Arafat and Abbas ensued.{{cite news |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/647/re2.htmnegotiat |title=Arafat vs Abbas |date=23 July 2003 |issue=647 |newspaper=Al-Ahram Weekly}} {{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} Abbas's term as prime minister was characterised by numerous conflicts between him and Arafat over the distribution of power. The United States and Israel accused Arafat of undermining Abbas and his government. Abbas hinted he would resign if not given more control over the administration. In early September 2003, he confronted the Palestinian parliament over this issue.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

Abbas came into conflict with Palestinian militant groups, notably the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement and Hamas because his pragmatic policies were opposed to their hard-line approach. Initially, he pledged not to use force against the militants in the interest of avoiding a civil war, and attempted negotiation. This was partially successful, resulting in a pledge from the two groups to honor a unilateral Palestinian cease-fire. However, continuing violence and Israeli "targeted killings" of known leaders forced Abbas to pledge a crackdown in order to uphold the Palestinian Authority's side of the Road map for peace. This led to a power struggle with Arafat over control of the Palestinian Security Services; Arafat refused to release control to Abbas, thus preventing him from using them on the militants. Abbas resigned as prime minister on 6 September 2003, citing lack of support from Israel and the United States as well as "internal incitement" against his government.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/06/israel1 |title=Profile: Mahmoud Abbas |first=Dan |last=Perry |date=6 September 2003 |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=26 January 2020}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/06/mideast/ |title=Palestinian prime minister Abbas resigns |date=6 September 2003 |website=CNN |access-date=26 January 2020}}

After Yasser Arafat's death, Abbas was seen, at least by Fatah, as his natural successor. On 25 November 2004, Abbas was endorsed by Fatah's Revolutionary Council as its preferred candidate for the presidential election, scheduled for 9 January 2005. On 14 December, Abbas called for an end to violence in the Second Intifada and a return to peaceful resistance. Abbas told the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that "the use of arms has been damaging and should end." However, he refused, or was not able, to disarm Palestinian militants and use force against groups designated as terrorist organisations.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

With Israeli forces arresting and restricting the movement of other candidates, Hamas's boycott of the election, and his campaign being given 94% of the Palestinian electoral campaign coverage on TV, Abbas's election was virtually ensured, and on 9 January Abbas was elected with 63% of the vote as President of the Palestinian National Authority.{{cite web |date=30 January 2005 |title=Final Report on Monitoring the Presidential Palestinian Elections |url=http://www.eicds.org/english/activities/pressreleases/05/monitoringpalestine.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307083744/http://www.eicds.org/english/activities/pressreleases/05/monitoringpalestine.htm |archive-date=7 March 2005 |access-date=26 January 2020 |website=Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies}}

In his speech, he addressed a crowd of supporters chanting "a million shahids", stating: "I present this victory to the soul of Yasser Arafat and present it to our people, to our martyrs and to 11,000 prisoners". He also called for Palestinian groups to end the use of arms against Israelis.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4160171.stm |title=Abbas achieves landslide poll win |date=10 January 2005 |website=BBC News |access-date=26 January 2020}}

File:Dmitry Medvedev in Palestine 18 January 2011-11.jpeg , January 2011]]

File:P20220715AS-0903 (52325477645).jpg at the Palestinian Presidential Palace in Bethlehem, July 2022]]

Despite Abbas's call for a peaceful solution, attacks by militant groups continued after his election, in a direct challenge to his authority. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine launched a raid in Gaza on 12 January 2005, that killed one and wounded three Israeli military personnel.{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/terrorism/palestinian/pages/suicide%20and%20other%20bombing%20attacks%20in%20israel%20since.aspx |title=Suicide and Other Bombing Attacks in Israel Since the Declaration of Principles (Sept 1993) |date=April 2016 |website=Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017124625/http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/terrorism/palestinian/pages/suicide%20and%20other%20bombing%20attacks%20in%20israel%20since.aspx |archive-date=17 October 2015}} On 13 January, Palestinians from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Hamas, and the Popular Resistance Committees launched a suicide attack on the Karni crossing, killing six Israelis. As a result, Israel shut down the damaged terminal and broke off relations with Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, stating that Abbas must now show a gesture of peace by attempting to stop such attacks.{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/14/gaza.bombing/ |title=Sharon suspends contacts with Palestinian Authority |date=14 January 2005 |website=CNN |access-date=26 January 2020}} Abbas was formally sworn in as the President of the Palestinian National Authority in a ceremony held on 15 January, in the West Bank town of Ramallah.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4179327.stm |title=PLO demands end to armed attacks |date=16 January 2005 |website=BBC News |access-date=26 January 2020}}

In February 2005, Abbas met with Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon at the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit to end the Second Intifada, and they both reaffirmed their commitment to the Roadmap for peace process. Sharon also agreed to release 900 Palestinian prisoners of the 7,500 being held at the time,{{cite book |title=The Road Map to Nowhere: Israel/Palestine Since 2003 |first=Tanya |last=Reinhart |author-link=Tanya Reinhart |location=London, UK |publisher=Verso |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-84467-076-5 |page=77}} and to withdraw from West Bank towns.

On 9 August 2005, Abbas announced that legislative elections, originally scheduled for 17 July 2005, would take place in January 2006. On 20 August, he set the elections for 25 January.{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/palestinian-elections-set-for-jan/ |title=Palestinian Elections Set For January |date=20 August 2005 |website=CBS News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=26 January 2020}} On 15 January 2006, Abbas declared that, despite unrest in Gaza, he would not change the election date, unless Israel were to prevent Palestinians in East Jerusalem from voting.{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2006/01/2008491414218871.html |title=Abbas: Palestinian polls on schedule |date=15 January 2006 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=26 January 2020}} The elections took place on 25 January 2006, and resulted in a decisive Hamas victory.

In January 2006, in the context of Fatah's election loss and Hamas' presumed future one party government, Abbas said that he would not run for office again at the end of his term.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4616144.stm |title=Abbas 'will not be leader again' |date=16 January 2006 |website=BBC News |access-date=26 January 2020}} However, following international sanctions against a Hamas one party government, political and military conflicts between Hamas and Fatah, and the division of the country, which made new elections impossible, Abbas stayed president after the expiration of his four-year term on 15 January 2009. He extended his term for another year, using another interpretation of the Basic Law and the Election Law, so he could align the next presidential and parliamentary elections. Pointing to the Palestinian constitution, Hamas disputed the validity of this move, and considered Abbas's term to have ended, in which case Aziz Duwaik, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, would have become acting president.

In December 2009, the leadership of the Palestinian Central Council announced an indefinite extension of Abbas's term as president. Since then, Abbas has remained president of the Fatah-controlled areas of the Palestinian territories.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/world/middleeast/17mideast.html |title=Palestinian Leadership Council Extends President Abbas's Term |first=Isabel |last=Kershner |date=17 December 2009 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=26 January 2020}} In April 2014, Hamas withdrew its objection, in order to form a Unity Government with Fatah.

File:Foreign Leader Visits (34779880355).jpg in Washington, D.C., 3 May 2017 |left]]

Abbas has supported the blockade of the Gaza Strip as a means of weakening Hamas. In 2010, Abbas declared that he opposed lifting the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip because this would bolster Hamas. Egypt also supported this position.{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/abbas-to-obama-i-m-against-lifting-the-gaza-naval-blockade-1.295771 |title=Abbas to Obama: I'm against lifting the Gaza naval blockade |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227101816/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/abbas-to-obama-i-m-against-lifting-the-gaza-naval-blockade-1.295771 |archive-date=27 February 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=3 September 2024 |first=Barak |last=Ravid |work=Haaretz |date=13 June 2010}} In 2014 and subsequent years, Abbas supported Egypt's crackdown on smuggling tunnels and welcomed the flooding of the tunnels by Egypt in coordination with the PA.{{cite web |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/12/abbas-supports-egypt-action-gaza-tunnels-2014121265210713278.html |title=Abbas 'supports' Egypt action on Gaza tunnels |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307111953/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/12/abbas-supports-egypt-action-gaza-tunnels-2014121265210713278.html |archive-date=7 March 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=3 September 2024 |work=Al Jazeera |date=12 December 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/21303-sisi-says-gaza-tunnels-flooded-in-coordination-with-pa |title=Sisi says Gaza tunnels flooded in coordination with PA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105614/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/21303-sisi-says-gaza-tunnels-flooded-in-coordination-with-pa |archive-date=4 March 2016 |work=Middle East Monitor|date=28 September 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/.premium-1.629397 |title=Abbas: Egypt Right to Create Buffer Zone on Gaza Border |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150820105818/https://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/.premium-1.629397 |archive-date=20 August 2015 |url-status=live |access-date=3 September 2024 |first=Jack |last=Khoury |work=Haaretz |date=1 December 2014 |quote=Abbas believed the destruction of the tunnels was the best solution. The Palestinian president said he had recommended previously the sealing or destruction of the tunnels by flooding them and then punishing the owners of the homes that contained entrances to the tunnels, including demolishing their homes.}} In 2016, Abbas objected to the entrance of Qatari fuel to the Gaza electricity plant via Israel, because his PA would be unable to collect taxes on the fuel.{{cite web |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/23968-yaalon-abbas-objected-to-qatari-fuel-entering-gaza-through-ashdod |title=Ya'alon: Abbas objected to Qatari fuel entering Gaza through Ashdod |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307124216/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/23968-yaalon-abbas-objected-to-qatari-fuel-entering-gaza-through-ashdod |archive-date=7 March 2016 |work=Middle East Monitor |date=17 February 2016}}

In December 2014, Abbas signed an application for Palestine to join the International Criminal Court,{{cite web |last1=Hatuqa |first1=Dalia |title=How Long Can Mahmoud Abbas Hold On? |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/16/can-mahmoud-abbas-hold-on-palestinian-successor-icc/ |website=Foreign Policy |access-date=18 October 2023 |date=16 January 2015}} just one day after the UN Security Council voted against a resolution demanding the end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and statehood for Palestine by 2017.{{cite news |last1=Beaumont |first1=Peter |title=US and Israeli intervention led UN to reject Palestinian resolution |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/31/us-israel-un-reject-palestinian-resolution-nigeria-security-council |website=The Guardian |date=31 December 2014 |access-date=18 October 2023}} The threat of joining the ICC and suing Israel for war crimes had been considered by Palestinian officials for years prior, but the move was seen as a diplomatic "last resort." The decision came as Abbas's administration dealt with allegations of corruption and mismanagement, potential political challenges from rival parties and other Fatah members, and low approval ratings.

File:Russian-Palestinian talks - 2024 - 04.jpg in Novo-Ogaryovo, Russia, 13 August 2024]]

In August 2015, Abbas announced his resignation as chairman of the executive committee of the PLO,{{cite web |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/22/Palestinian-President-Mahmoud-Abbas-resigns.html |title=PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas quits leadership post |date=22 August 2015 |website=Al Arabiya |access-date=3 September 2024}} and subsequently called for an emergency meeting of the PNC to hold an election. The announcement drew criticisms and speculation as to his motives.{{cite news |last1=Rudoren |first1=Jodi |title=In West Bank, Speculation Abounds Over Mahmoud Abbas's Plans |work=The New York Times |date=September 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/02/world/middleeast/in-west-bank-speculation-abounds-over-mahmoud-abbass-plans.html |access-date=18 October 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Frykberg |first1=Mel |title=Critics slam Mahmoud Abbas' PLO resignation as 'farce' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/8/28/critics-slam-mahmoud-abbas-plo-resignation-as-farce |website=Al Jazeera |date=28 Aug 2015 |access-date=3 September 2024}} His proposed special session of the PNC was postponed indefinitely,{{cite web |url=https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767521 |title=PNC chair confirms controversial session postponed |date=9 September 2015 |website=Ma'an News Agency |access-date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207174841/https://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=767521 |archive-date=7 December 2015}} and he remains acting chairman of the PLC as of October 2023.

In 2021, local elections in Palestine were held amidst a rift between Abbas and Hamas.{{Cite news|last1=Ayyub|first1=Rami|last2=Sawafta|first2=Ali|date=11 December 2021|title=Palestinians vote in local elections amid rising anger with Abbas|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinians-vote-local-elections-amid-rising-anger-with-abbas-2021-12-11/|access-date=3 September 2024}} This was after he had indefinitely postponed the presidential election and parliamentary elections.{{Cite web|date=11 December 2021|title=Some 400,000 Palestinians vote in rare municipal elections|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/palestinians-mahmoud-abbas-west-bank-hamas-palestinian-authority-b1974278.html|access-date=3 September 2024|website=The Independent|language=en}}

During the Gaza war, Abbas rejected "practices of killing civilians or abusing them on both sides because they contravene morals, religion and international law."{{cite news |title=Palestinian President Abbas condemns violence against civilians |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/palestinian-president-says-he-rejects-killing-civilians-both-sides-conflict-2023-10-12/ |work=Reuters |date=12 October 2023 |access-date=3 September 2024 |first=Ali |last=Sawafta}} He called for the "release of civilians, prisoners and detainees" and expressed concern about the consequences of Israel's total blockade of the Gaza Strip.{{cite news |title=Palestinian President Abbas condemns violence against civilians |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/palestinian-president-abbas-condemns-violence-against-civilians |work=The Straits Times |date=12 October 2023 |access-date=3 September 2024}} Abbas declared three days of mourning following the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion and canceled a planned meeting with U.S. president Joe Biden.{{Cite web|last1=Ibrahim|first1=Arwa|last2=Siddiqui|first2=Usaid|last3=Mohamed |first3=Edna |last4=Hatuqa |first4=Dalia |last5=Stepansky |first5=Joseph |title=Hundreds of casualties as Israel hits Gaza hospital sheltering thousands|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/16/israel-hamas-war-live-iran-warns-resistance-front-may-attack |date=17 October 2023 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |access-date=3 September 2024}} In February 2024, he called the Al-Rashid humanitarian aid incident an "ugly massacre" that was perpetrated by the "Israeli occupation army."{{Cite news |date=29 February 2024 |title=Dozens killed waiting for aid in Gaza as overall death toll passes 30,000, Hamas-run health ministry says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/29/dozens-killed-waiting-for-aid-in-gaza-as-overall-death-toll-passes-30000-hamas-run-health-ministry-says.html |work=CNBC |agency=Reuters |language=en |archive-date=29 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229190610/https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/29/dozens-killed-waiting-for-aid-in-gaza-as-overall-death-toll-passes-30000-hamas-run-health-ministry-says.html |url-status=live |access-date=3 September 2024}} In April 2025, in his strongest remarks since the war began, Abbas condemned Hamas as "sons of dogs," blaming them for giving Israel justification to continue its assault on Gaza and demanding they release the Israeli hostages, disarm, and cede control of the territory.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-23 |title=Abbas calls Hamas 'sons of dogs' and demands release of hostages |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g20pj6epvo |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}

At the age of 89, Abbas is one of the oldest world leaders ever (as of {{date}}) and thus on 28 November 2024, after growing calls for him to quit, Abbas nominated Rawhi Fattouh, to be his temporary successor until elections are held when the time comes for Abbas to step down.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/30/explainer-why-has-palestinian-authoritys-mahmoud-abbas-nominated-his-successor|author=Why has Palestinian Authority’s Mahmoud Abbas nominated a successor now?|title=Why has Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas nominated a successor now? |work=Al Jazeera|date=30 November 2024}} In March 2025, Abbas has announced that the long-awaited legislative election will be held and that he has announced the creation of a vice presidential post.{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20250304-palestinian-president-abbas-says-ready-to-hold-elections-within-a-year|title=Palestinian Authority president Abbas says ready to hold election|work=France 24|date=4 March 2025}}

In April 2025, Abbas officially created the post of vice president and appointed Hussein al-Sheikh, the secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to the role, thus making him Abbas' likely successor when he steps down.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/26/palestinian-president-names-hussein-al-sheikh-vice-president-of-plo-and-his-likely-successor|title=Palestinian president names Hussein al-Sheikh vice-president of PLO and his likely successor|work=The Guardian News|date=26 April 2025}}

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File:Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Mahmoud Abbas in May 2009.jpg and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office ]]

{{See also|List of international presidential trips made by Mahmoud Abbas}}

File:Rice Olmert Abbas 2007.jpg Condoleezza Rice and then Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert ]]

In January 2005, Israeli radio reported that Abbas had secured a thirty-day ceasefire from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. On 12 February, lone Palestinians attacked Israel settlements and Abbas quickly fired some of his security officers for not stopping the attacks during the ceasefire.

In April 2005, Abbas said that the killing of three Palestinians in southern Gaza by Israeli soldiers was a deliberate violation of the declared ceasefire deal. "This violation is made on purpose," Abbas said in a written statement sent to reporters in the West Bank capital of Ramallah. Abbas made the statement shortly after three Palestinian teenage boys were shot dead by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Israel claimed they thought the boys were attempting to smuggle weapons, while Palestinians claimed a group of boys were playing soccer and three of them went to retrieve the ball near the border fence.{{cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/84DEC331-B3BD-4A1C-B2F2-186AF5683714.htm |title=Israeli troops kill Palestinian teenagers |date=10 April 2005 |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050911055856/http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/84DEC331-B3BD-4A1C-B2F2-186AF5683714.htm |archive-date=11 September 2005}}

In July 2005, he announced that he would move his office to Gaza until the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops in order to coordinate the Palestinian side of the withdrawal, mediating between the different factions.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4715627.stm |title=Abbas moves to Gaza for pullout |date=25 July 2005 |website=BBC News |access-date=26 January 2020}}

In March 2008, Abbas stated he was suspending peace talks with Israel, while Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert vowed to press on with military operations against militants who have been launching home-made rockets into southern Israel.{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/02/mideast/index.html |title=Palestinians suspend peace talks with Israel |first=Shira |last=Medding |date=2 March 2008 |website=CNN |access-date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305184821/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/03/02/mideast/index.html#cnnSTCText |archive-date=5 March 2008}}

In May 2008 Abbas said he would resign from his office if the current round of peace talks had not yielded an agreement in principle "within six months". He also said that the current negotiations were, in effect, deadlocked: "So far, we have not reached an agreement on any issue. Any report indicating otherwise is simply not true."{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Emerging_Threats/Analysis/2008/05/20/analysis_the_palestinians_trump_card/6996/ |title=Analysis: The Palestinians' trump card |first=Claude |last=Salhani|author-link=Claude Salhani |date=20 May 2008 |website=United Press International |access-date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521093753/http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Emerging_Threats/Analysis/2008/05/20/analysis_the_palestinians_trump_card/6996/ |archive-date=21 May 2008}}

Abbas has since confirmed that he turned down an Israeli offer for a Palestinian state on nearly 95% of the West Bank. In September 2008, Olmert had presented him with a map that delineated the borders of the proposed PA state, for which Israel would annex 6.3 percent of the West Bank and compensate the Palestinians with 5.8 percent (taken from pre-1967 Israel), which Abbas stated he rejected out of hand, insisting instead to demarcate the 4 June 1967 borders of Palestine. He said that Olmert did not give a map of the proposal and that he could not sign without seeing the proposal. Abbas also said that he was not an expert on maps and pointed to Olmert's corruption investigation (he was later convicted).{{cite news |url=http://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/149618/abbas-admits-rejecting-ehud-olmerts-peace-offer |title=Abbas admits rejecting Ehud Olmert's peace offer |date=19 November 2015 |work=The Jewish Chronicle |access-date=19 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324082013/http://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/149618/abbas-admits-rejecting-ehud-olmerts-peace-offer |archive-date=2016-03-24}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.thetower.org/2580-breaking-abbas-admits-for-the-first-time-that-he-turned-down-peace-offer-in-2008/ |title=Abbas Admits For the First Time That He Turned Down Peace Offer in 2008 |date=17 November 2015 |magazine=The Tower Magazine |access-date=3 September 2024}} Abbas said in October 2011 that he made a counteroffer to let Israel annex 1.9% of the West Bank.{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/28/mahmoud-abbas-remarkable-_n_1064397.html |title=Mahmoud Abbas: Remarkable Revelations In Israeli TV Interview |first=Amy |last=Teibel |date=28 October 2011 |website=Huffington Post |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030071622/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/28/mahmoud-abbas-remarkable-_n_1064397.html |archive-date=30 October 2011}}

In 2012, Abbas floated the idea of accepting a two-state solution which outlined Palestine as existing within the 1967 borders with a capital in East Jerusalem. In an interview with Israeli Channel 2 TV, Abbas said, "It is my right to see [the Israeli city of Safed], but not to live there."{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-president-welcomes-abbas-s-refugee-remarks-1.1147016 |title=Israel president welcomes Abbas's refugee remarks |work=CBC |date=3 November 2012 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=3 September 2024}} The negative reaction{{From whom?|date=October 2023}} to these words forced Abbas to backpedal.{{cite book |author=Halevi, Yossi Klein |title=Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor |location=New York |publisher=Harper |date=2018}}

According to an International Crisis Group report, most Israeli officials "do not see [Abbas] as a peace partner but consider [him] a nonthreatening, violence-abhorring, strategic asset."{{cite web |url=https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/162-no-exit-gaza-israel-between-wars.pdf |title=No Exit? Gaza & Israel Between Wars: Middle East Report No.162 |date=26 August 2015 |website=International Crisis Group |page=33 |access-date=26 January 2020 |archive-date=12 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612072330/https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/162-no-exit-gaza-israel-between-wars.pdf |url-status=dead}}

In June 2016, Abbas repeated to the European Parliament a false press report that rabbis in Israel were calling for Palestinian wells to be poisoned.{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.726657 |title=Abbas Repeats Debunked Claim That Rabbis Called to Poison Palestinian Water in Brussels Speech |last1=Ravid |first1=Barak |last2=Khoury |first2=Jack |date=23 June 2016 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=3 September 2024}} Abbas retracted the statement the following day, acknowledging that the claim was not true and stating that he "didn't intend to do harm to Judaism or to offend Jewish people around the world".{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/world/middleeast/mahmoud-abbas-israel-rabbis-poison-palestinian-water.html |title=Abbas Retracts Claim That Israeli Rabbis Called for Poisoning Water |last1=Hadid |first1=Diaa |date=24 June 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=3 September 2024}} Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abbas's statement spread a "blood libel".{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-idUSKCN0Z91J8 |title=Abbas says some Israeli rabbis called for poisoning Palestinian water |last1=Emmott |first1=Robin |last2=Williams |first2=Dan |date=23 June 2016 |work=Reuters |access-date=3 September 2024}}

File:Direct talks in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on September 14, 2010 2.jpg and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu]]

In May 2006, Abbas gave Hamas a ten-day deadline to accept the 1967 ceasefire lines.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/05/25/palestinian.talks/ |title=Abbas gives Hamas 10 days to accept Israel |date=25 May 2006 |website=CNN |access-date=3 September 2024}}

In December 2006, Abbas called for new legislative elections, to bring an end to the parliamentary stalemate between Fatah and Hamas in forming a national coalition government.{{cite web |url=http://us.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/12/16/abbas/index.html |title=Palestinian president calls for early elections |date=16 December 2006 |website=CNN |access-date=3 September 2024}}

In March 2007, a unity government was formed incorporating members of both Hamas and Fatah, with Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister and independent politicians taking many key portfolios.

In June 2007, Abbas dissolved the Hamas-led unity government of Haniyeh, declared a state of emergency, and appointed Salam Fayyad in his place. This followed action by Hamas armed forces to take control of Palestinian Authority positions controlled by Fatah militias. The appointment of Fayyad to replace Haniyeh has been challenged as illegal, because under the Palestinian Basic Law, the president may dismiss a sitting prime minister, but may not appoint a replacement without the approval of the Palestinian Legislative Council. According to the law, until a new prime minister is thus appointed, the outgoing prime minister heads a caretaker government. Fayyad's appointment was never placed before, or approved by the Legislative Council.{{cn|date=November 2023}} For this reason, Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister has continued to operate in Gaza, and is recognised by a large number of Palestinians as the legitimate acting prime minister. Anis al-Qasem, a constitutional lawyer who drafted the Basic Law, is among those who publicly declared Abbas's appointment of Fayyad to be illegal.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL0880166 |title=Opinion of lawyer who drafted Palestinian law |date=8 July 2007 |website=Reuters |access-date=3 September 2024}}

In June 2007, the European Union promised to resume direct aid to the Palestinian Authority, and Abbas dissolved the National Security Council, a sticking point in the defunct unity government with Hamas.{{cite news |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/18/business/mideast.php |title=Abbas dissolves Palestinian National Security Council, rallying international support |date=18 June 2007 |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |access-date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070621092227/http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/18/business/mideast.php |archive-date=21 June 2007}} That same day, the United States decided to end its fifteen-month embargo on the Palestinian Authority and resume aid, attempting to strengthen Abbas's West Bank government.{{cite news |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/19/sports/pals.php |title=U.S. ends embargo on Palestinian Authority in move to bolster Fatah |first=Helene |last=Cooper |date=19 June 2007 |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |access-date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002021516/http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/19/sports/pals.php |archive-date=2 October 2007}} A day later, the Fatah Central Committee cut off all ties and dialogue with Hamas, pending the return of Gaza.{{cite news |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/19/africa/ME-GEN-Palestinians-Fatah-Hamas.php |title=Fatah's leadership decides to cut off all contacts with Hamas |agency=Associated Press |date=19 June 2007 |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |access-date=26 January 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016061625/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/19/africa/ME-GEN-Palestinians-Fatah-Hamas.php |archive-date=16 October 2007}}

In July 2023, Abbas met with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Behind the meeting was Turkey's effort to reconcile Fatah with Hamas.{{cite news |title=Erdogan hosts PA's Abbas, Hamas head Haniyeh to prepare for détente talks |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/erdogan-hosts-pas-abbas-hamas-head-haniyeh-to-prepare-for-detente-talks/ |work=The Times of Israel |date=26 July 2023 |access-date=3 September 2024}}

File:The opening of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque (2015-09-23) 03.jpg , and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened Moscow's Cathedral Mosque, 23 September 2015. ]]

File:Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends UNGA (54022912335).jpg in New York City, 25 September 2024]]

In May 2009, he welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to the West Bank, who supported Abbas's goal of a Palestinian State.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8047134.stm |title=Pope calls for Palestinian state |date=13 May 2009 |website=BBC News |access-date=26 January 2020}} Also in May 2009, Abbas made a visit to Canada, where he met with foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The same year Abbas visited Venezuela and met Hugo Chávez.{{cite journal |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-329606358/death-of-an-international-strong-man |title=Death of an International Strong Man |first=Sharif Hikmat |last=Nashashibi |date=April 2013 |issue=442 |journal=The Middle East |access-date=4 September 2017 |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012094034/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-329606358/death-of-an-international-strong-man |url-status=dead }}

In February 2010, Abbas visited Japan for the third time as Palestinian president. In this visit he met Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. He also visited Hiroshima, the first such visit by a Palestinian leader, and spoke about the suffering of Hiroshima, which he compared to the suffering of the Palestinians.{{cite web |url=http://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/mediacenter/article.php?story=20100209112446197_en |title=President of Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas visits Hiroshima |website=Hiroshima Peace Media Center |access-date=19 June 2016 |archive-date=12 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012094038/http://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/mediacenter/article.php?story=20100209112446197_en |url-status=dead }}

In July 2012, Abbas accused former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice of fabricating a conversation between them and denied such a conversation took place. The specific quote he denied was, "I can't tell four million Palestinians only five thousand of them can go home,"{{cite news |url=http://www.maannews.net/eng/viewdetails.aspx?id=432399 |title=In memoir, Rice says 'historic peace' nearly reached |date=25 October 2011 |website=Ma'an News Agency |access-date=11 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105134453/http://www.maannews.net/eng/viewdetails.aspx?id=432399 |archive-date=5 January 2012}}{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4138022,00.html |title=Rice: I thought peace was within reach |date=23 October 2011 |work=Ynet |access-date=3 September 2024}} regarding the issue of Palestinian refugees. Abbas further said, "I'm not calling her a liar... I am saying we never had that conversation."{{cite news |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/abbas-accuses-rice-of-fabricating-key-conversation-about-olmerts-peace-offer/ |title=Abbas accuses Rice of fabricating crucial conversation about Olmert's peace offer |first=Kayla J. |last=Adams |date=7 July 2012 |newspaper=The Times of Israel |access-date=3 September 2024}} In response, Rice denied that she fabricated it. Her chief of staff, Georgia Godfrey, wrote, "Dr. Rice stands by her account of the conversation and what she wrote in her book."{{cite news |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/rebutting-abbas-condoleezza-rice-confirms-her-account-of-their-2008-refugee-conversation/ |title=Rebutting Abbas, Condoleezza Rice confirms her account of their 2008 refugee conversation |last=Ahren |first=Raphael |date=11 July 2012 |newspaper=The Times of Israel |access-date=3 September 2024}}

In January 2019, Abbas accepted the chairmanship of the United Nations' Group of 77, a coalition of 134 mainly developing nations and China, on behalf of Palestine, which is a non-member observer state of the UN. He was handed the gavel by Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry, the outgoing chairman.{{Cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/7a0ea4857106432885d845ab027591d4|title=Palestinians announce plans to again seek full UN membership|date=15 January 2019|work=AP NEWS|first=Edith M.|last=Lederer|access-date=3 September 2024}}

Abbas made a state visit to China in 2023, and held talks with President Xi Jinping and met with Premier Li Keqiang.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-16 |title=Palestinian leader Abbas ends China trip after backing Beijing's crackdown on Muslim minorities |url=https://apnews.com/article/china-palestinians-abbas-xinjiang-7aa4038f6a3302dcaaedd23d44e0a3de |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Associated Press |language=en}}

Citing the 2012 corruption report by the Coalition for Accountability and Integrity, Al-Monitor characterized corruption in the Palestinian Authority as being "still rampant inside public Palestinian institutions despite the progress during the past year".{{cite web |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/report-corruption-palestine-institutions-gaza.html |title=Report Highlights Corruption In Palestinian Institutions |first=Hazem |last=Balousha |date=6 May 2013 |website=Al-Monitor |access-date=3 September 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803222918/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/report-corruption-palestine-institutions-gaza.html |archive-date=2014-08-03}}{{Cite web |date=2013-04-24 |title=Corruption Report Recommends Holding Officials Accountable for not Implementing Court Decisions |url=https://www.aman-palestine.org/en/activities/566.html?_ri=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803222918/http://www.aman-palestine.org/en/activities/1305.html |archive-date=2014-08-03 |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=Coalition for Accountability and Integrity |language=en}}

In 2003, CBS News reported that Yasser Arafat, Abbas's mentor and predecessor, had diverted nearly $1 billion in public funds to "insure his political survival".{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arafats-billions/ |title=Arafat's Billions: One Man's Quest To Track Down Unaccounted-For Public Funds |first=Tricia |last=McDermott |date=7 November 2003 |website=CBS News |access-date=3 September 2024}} In a 2006 report, the Congressional Research Service characterised the Palestinian public's dissatisfaction with institutional corruption as a factor that contributed to a win by Hamas in the January 2006 parliamentary election. It noted that Fatah leaders had been accused of siphoning funds from ministry budgets, passing out patronage jobs, accepting favors and gifts from suppliers and contractors.{{cite report |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33269.pdf |title=Palestinian Elections |first=Aaron D. |last=Pina |date=9 February 2006 |publisher=Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress |page=2 |access-date=3 September 2024}}

The source for specific allegations against Abbas was one of Arafat's most trusted aides, Mohammed Rashid, accused by the PA of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars, who threatened to expose corruption scandals in the Palestinian Authority. For many years, Rashid served as Arafat's financial advisor and was given a free hand to handle hundreds of millions of dollars that were poured on the Palestinian Authority and the PLO by the US, the EU and Arab donors. According to Rashid, Abbas's net worth was {{currency|100|USD}} million.{{cite news |url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/01/palestinian-authority-wants-ottawas-help-seizing-former-arafat-advisors-canadian-assets/ |title=Palestinian Authority wants Ottawa's help seizing former Arafat advisor's Canadian assets |first=Adrian |last=Humphreys |date=1 April 2013 |newspaper=National Post |access-date=9 June 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130624191649/http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/01/palestinian-authority-wants-ottawas-help-seizing-former-arafat-advisors-canadian-assets/ |archive-date=24 June 2013}}

On 10 July 2012, Abbas and his sons were attacked, in the US Congress, for their alleged corruption. The debate was entitled Chronic Kleptocracy: Corruption Within the Palestinian Political Establishment.{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-lawmakers-slam-mahmoud-abbas-for-alleged-corruption-1.450279 |title=U.S. lawmakers slam Mahmoud Abbas for alleged corruption |first=Natasha |last=Mozgovaya |date=11 July 2012 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=3 September 2024}} In his testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia, Elliott Abrams stated that "Corruption is an insidious destroyer not only of Palestinian public finance but of faith in the entire political system. And it has certainly had an impact on potential donors. I can tell you from my own experience, as an American official seeking financial assistance for the PA from Gulf Arab governments, that I was often told 'why should we give them money when their officials will just steal it?'"{{cite web |url=https://cdn.cfr.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2012/07/Abrams.HFACTestimony_07092012.pdf |title=Chronic Kleptocracy: Corruption Within the Palestinian Political Establishment |first=Elliot |last=Abrams |date=10 July 2012 |website=Council on Foreign Relations |access-date=3 September 2024 |page=1}}{{cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg74960/pdf/CHRG-112hhrg74960.pdf |title=Chronic Kleptocracy: Corruption Within The Palestinian Political Establishment: Hearing before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Second Session |date=10 July 2012 |website=United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs |access-date=3 September 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029003707/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg74960/pdf/CHRG-112hhrg74960.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2013}}

The conspicuous wealth of Abbas's own sons, Yasser and Tarek, has been noted in Palestinian society since at least 2009, when Reuters first published a series of articles tying the sons to several business deals, including a few that had U.S. taxpayer support.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL9347117 |title=Firms run by President Abbas's sons get US contracts |first=Adam |last=Entous |date=22 April 2009 |website=Reuters |access-date=3 September 2024}} In a Foreign Policy article, author Jonathan Schanzer suggested four ways in which the Abbas family has become rich. They include monopolies on American-made cigarettes sold in the territories; USAID funding; public works projects, such as road and school construction, on behalf of the Palestinian Authority; and special preferences for retail enterprises. It was strongly implied that the sons' lineage was the main credential in receiving these contracts.{{cite journal |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/06/05/the-brothers-abbas/ |title=The Brothers Abbas: Are the sons of the Palestinian president growing rich off their father's system? |first=Jonathan |last=Schanzer |date=5 June 2012 |journal=Foreign Policy |access-date=3 September 2024}}

One of his sons, Yasser Abbas (but not brother Tarek or father Mahmoud), filed a {{USD|10}} million libel lawsuit in the United States District Court, District of Columbia, in September 2012 against Foreign Policy Group LLC and Schanzer alleging "false and defamatory statements. It seems every statement will be challenged, in a jury trial, if the court accepts jurisdiction."{{cite web |url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/abbas-complaint.pdf |title=Yasser Abbas v. Foreign Policy Group LLC, Complaint for Defamation, Civil Action No. 12-cv-01565 |website=US District Court, District of Columbia |access-date=3 September 2024}} Abbas also accused Schanzer of not contacting him for comment and of relying on untrustworthy sources of information. Abbas accused Schanzer of acting with malice and pursuing an agenda against the brothers, even though he also contended that he's a private citizen and not a public figure, so we wouldn't need to prove actual malice to win.{{cite web |url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2012/09/palestinian-presidents-son-sues-magazine-for-libel.html |title=Palestinian President's Son Sues Magazine for Libel |first=Zoe |last=Tillman |date=25 September 2012 |website=The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes |access-date=3 September 2024}}

Some analysts believed the Abbas family would not proceed with the case as it would allow Foreign Policy and Schanzer to dig in too deep into the PA's secret finances and records.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/09/27/libel-suit-highlights-abbas-corruption/ |title=Libel Suit Highlights Abbas Corruption |first=Jonathon S. |last=Tobin |date=27 September 2012 |magazine=Commentary |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121204150135/http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2012/09/27/libel-suit-highlights-abbas-corruption/ |archive-date=2012-12-04}} However, the case proceeded.

In September 2013, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan dismissed the suit using D.C.'s anti-SLAPP measure. Sullivan determined the lawsuit intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandoned their criticisms or opposition.{{cite web |url=https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2012cv1565-28 |title=Memorandum Opinion, Civ. Action No. 12-1565 (EGS) |first=Judge Emmet G. |last=Sullivan |date=27 September 2013 |website=US District Court for the District of Columbia |access-date=3 September 2024}} The decision has been appealed.{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2013/10/palestinian-leaders-son-appeals-loss-of-foreign-policy-175772.html |title=Palestinian leader's son appeals loss of Foreign Policy libel lawsuit |last=Gerstein |first=Josh |date=23 October 2013 |website=Politico |access-date=3 September 2024}}

As part of the 2016 Panama Papers data leak, it was revealed that Abbas's son Tareq Abbas holds {{USD|1}} million in shares of an offshore company associated with the Palestinian Authority.{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/1.713347 |title=Panama Papers: Leaks Reveal Abbas' Son's $1m Holding in Company With Ties to Palestinian Authority |first1=Uri |last1=Blau |first2=Daniel |last2=Dolev |date=7 April 2016 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=3 September 2024}}

In June 2021, hundreds of Palestinians held protests against the Abbas administration's corruption and brutality in central Ramallah (including one held at the president's headquarters) after anti-corruption activist Nizar Banat died in government custody.{{Cite news |last1=Rasgon |first1=Adam |last2=Kershner |first2=Isabel |date=7 July 2021 |title=Critic's Death Puts Focus on Palestinian Authority's Authoritarianism |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/world/middleeast/Palestinian-Authority-protesters.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220106025538/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/world/middleeast/Palestinian-Authority-protesters.html%23commentsContainer |archive-date=6 January 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

One of the common claims made by detractors against his government is that it works effectively as a subcontractor for the Israeli government; in spite of his strong verbal criticism of the Israeli government, there is widespread disdain for his administration within the Palestinian Authority.{{cite news |url=https://theintercept.com/2023/09/15/palestinian-authority-mahmoud-abbas-oslo-accords/ |title=Mahmoud Abbas Holocaust Controversy Spotlights Deep Disillusion With Palestinian Authority |first=Alice |last=Speri |date=15 September 2023 |newspaper=National Post |access-date=3 September 2024}}

{{main|The Other Side: the Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism}}

The Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement 1933–1945 is the title of Abbas's CandSc thesis, which was completed in 1982 at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, and defended at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.The dissertation and book discussed topics such as the Haavara Agreement, in which the Jewish Agency signed a pact with Nazi Germany to facilitate Jewish emigration to Palestine.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=538949 |title=Аббас на глиняных ногах |trans-title=Abbas has feet of clay |first1=Mikhail |last1=Zigar |first2=Grigory |last2=Asmolov |date=17 January 2005 |magazine=Kommersant-Vlast |issue=605 |language=ru |page=56 |access-date=26 January 2020}}{{cite web |url=http://berkovich-zametki.com/2005/Zametki/Nomer11/Gorelik1.htm |title=Как товарищи Махмуд Аббас и Евгений Примаков Холокост отрицали |trans-title=How comrades Mahmoud Abbas and Yevgeny Primakov denied the Holocaust |first=Vadim |last=Gorelik |date=November 2005 |website=Notes on Jewish History |language=ru |access-date=26 January 2020}} Some content of his thesis has been considered as Holocaust denial by some Jewish groups,{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1933453.stm |title=Profile: Mahmoud Abbas |date=5 November 2009 |website=BBC News |access-date=3 September 2024}} especially where he disputed the accepted number of Jews murdered in the Holocaust and claimed Zionist agitation had been the cause of the Holocaust.

In 1984, he published a book titled The Other Side: the Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism (Arabic: Al-Wajh al-Ākhar: Al-'Alāqat aL-Sirriyya bayn al-Nāzīyya wa al-Sahyūniyya) based on the dissertation. In the book Abbas dismissed as a "myth" and "fantastic lie" that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust,{{Cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Abbas-shifts-stance-on-Holocaust-350526 |title=Abbas: Holocaust 'most heinous crime' in modern era |date=27 April 2014 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=3 September 2024}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrDuCwAAQBAJ |title=Refuting the Anti-Israel Narrative: A Case for the Historical, Legal and Moral Legitimacy of the Jewish State |last=Havardi |first=Jeremy |date=29 March 2016 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-78649-881-9 |language=en}} writing that the real figure was at most "890,000" or "a few hundred thousand".{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tWJpAgAAQBAJ&q=Abbas |title=Genocide Denials and the Law |last1=Hennebel |first1=Ludovic |last2=Hochmann |first2=Thomas |date=9 February 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19987-639-6 |page=117 |language=en}} The number of such deaths, he claimed, had been exaggerated for political purposes, writing "it seems that the interest of the Zionist movement ... is to inflate this figure so that their gains will be greater. This led them to emphasize this figure [six million] in order to gain the solidarity of international public opinion with Zionism. Many scholars have debated the figure of six million and reached stunning conclusions—fixing the number of Jewish victims at only a few hundred thousand."{{cite web |url=http://www.wymaninstitute.org/articles/2003-03-denier.php |title=A Holocaust-Denier as Prime Minister of "Palestine"? |first=Rafael |last=Medoff |date=March 2003 |website=The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies |access-date=26 January 2020}} When asked about this assertion in his book, Abbas replied some 10 years later that he had written the book when the Palestinians were at war with Israel, adding that "today I would not have made such remarks."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/11/international/middleeast/11ABBA.html |title=Man in the News; Soft-Spoken but Not Afraid to Voice Opinions – Mahmoud Abbas |first=Greg |last=Myre |date=11 March 2003 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=3 September 2024}} In a March 2006 interview with Haaretz, Abbas stated:

I wrote in detail about the Holocaust and said I did not want to discuss numbers. I quoted an argument between historians in which various numbers of casualties were mentioned. One wrote there were 12 million victims and another wrote there were 800,000. I have no desire to argue with the figures. The Holocaust was a terrible, unforgivable crime against the Jewish nation, a crime against humanity that cannot be accepted by humankind. The Holocaust was a terrible thing and nobody can claim I denied it.{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-told-us-to-ignore-israeli-map-reservations-1.8840 |title=U.S. told us to ignore Israeli map reservations |first=Akiva |last=Eldar |date=28 May 2003 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=3 September 2024}}

In August 2022, during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Abbas was asked by an attending journalist if he would apologize for the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes by Palestinian terrorists. He responded that "If we want to go over the past, go ahead. I have 50 slaughters that Israel committed… 50 massacres, 50 slaughters, 50 holocausts." In an interview afterwards with the Bild tabloid, Scholz condemned Abbas's statements as a trivialization of the Holocaust. The remarks were also condemned by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.{{Cite web |last1=staff |first1=T. O. I. |last2=Agencies |title=In Berlin, Abbas says Israel committed 'holocausts' against the Palestinians; Scholz grimaces silently, later condemns remarks |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/in-berlin-abbas-skirts-apology-for-munich-attack-says-israel-committed-holocausts/ |access-date=3 September 2024 |work=The Times of Israel|date=16 August 2022 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=16 August 2022 |title=Palestinian President Abbas skirts apology for Munich attack |url=https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-sports-israel-germany-middle-east-1f2c2b601c4e4f48f88dff61b1a55271 |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=AP NEWS|first=Frank|last=Jordans |language=en}} Following an offense report for "relativizing the Shoah", in Berlin a criminal investigation was opened by police to determine if Abbas is guilty of Volksverhetzung.{{Cite web |date=19 August 2022 |title=Berliner Polizei ermittelt gegen Abbas |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/berlin-ermittlungen-polizei-abbas-101.html |access-date=3 September 2024 |website=Tagesschau|language=de}} The investigation was closed because Abbas enjoys diplomatic immunity.{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/germany-closes-incitement-probe-into-abbass-50-holocausts-remark/|title=Germany closes incitement probe into Abbas's '50 holocausts' remark|first=Jacob|last=Magid|website=Times of Israel |date=23 November 2022 |access-date=3 September 2024}}

In August 2023, during a speech to the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Abbas claimed that Hitler killed Jews because of their "social role" as moneylenders, rather than out of antisemitism, and that Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of Khazars. His comments were condemned by the United States, European Union, France, and Germany,{{Cite web |last1=Berman |first1=Lazar |first2= Jacob |last2=Magid |date=7 September 2023 |title=US antisemitism envoy and EU denounce Mahmoud Abbas's speech: Distorts the Holocaust |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-abbass-holocaust-speech-fuels-antisemitism-insults-holocaust-victims/ |work=Times of Israel |language=en-US |access-date=3 September 2024}}{{cite news |date=2023-09-07 |title=US, France, Germany condemn Mahmoud Abbas' antisemitic comments |work=Al-Monitor |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/09/us-france-germany-condemn-mahmoud-abbas-antisemitic-comments |access-date=3 September 2024}}{{cite news |date=2023-09-07 |title=Palestinian president condemned over holocaust remark |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/07/palestinian-president-condemned-mahmoud-abbas-holocaust-remarks |access-date=3 September 2024 |first=Peter |last=Beaumont}} while Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo rescinded Abbas's Medal of the City of Paris in response.{{cite news |date=2023-08-09 |title=Paris mayor strips Palestinian President Abbas of honour over Holocaust remarks |work=France 24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230908-paris-mayor-strips-palestinian-president-abbas-of-honour-over-holocaust-remarks |access-date=3 September 2024}}

In 2012 and 2014, Abbas' approval ratings peaked at 64%. Since then, his ratings slowly declined. In 2017, Abbas' approval ratings was 45%, before eventually rising to 50% in 2018. From 2019 onwards, his ratings started to decline again and by 2021, nearly 80% of Palestinians wanted Abbas to resign.{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-jerusalem-israel-mahmoud-abbas-hamas-5a716da863a603ab5f117548ea85379d|title=Polls find nearly 80% of Palestinians want Abbas to resign|work=AP Archive|date=21 September 2021}}

In 2022, Abbas' approval was at 40% before falling to 32% in 2023. According to a poll released that same year, nearly 90% of Palestinians wanted Abbas to resign as support for Hamas grew.{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-palestinians-opinion-poll-wartime-views-a0baade915619cd070b5393844bc4514|title=Palestinian poll shows a rise in Hamas support and close to 90% of Palestinians wanting US-backed Abbas to resign|work=AP Archive|date=14 December 2023}} In 2024, Abbas' ratings hit an all time low of 29%, with 59% of Palestinians disapproving of him.{{Cite web|url=https://www.habtoorresearch.com/programmes/frontier-west-bank-gaza/|title=The New Frontier: West Bank is the New Gaza|work=Al Habtoor Research Centre|date=18 February 2025}}

• Politics of Palestine
• List of Fatah members
• History of Palestine

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist| refs =

{{cite news |url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2008/November/middleeast_November480.xml§ion=middleeast |title=PLO body elects Abbas 'president of Palestine' |date=24 November 2008 |newspaper=Khaleej Times |agency=AFP |quote='I announce that the PLO Central Council has elected Mahmud Abbas president of the State of Palestine. He takes on this role from this day, November 23, 2008,' the body's chairman Salem al-Zaanun told reporters. |access-date=8 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608080641/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data%2Fmiddleeast%2F2008%2FNovember%2Fmiddleeast_November480.xml§ion=middleeast |archive-date=8 June 2011 }}

{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ramallah |title=Ramallah: Town, West Bank |date=29 April 2014 |website=Britannica.com |access-date=15 March 2015 |quote=Ramallah, also spelled Rām Allāh, town in the West Bank, adjacent to the town of Al-Bīrah (east) and north of Jerusalem.}}

{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Dweik-is-real-Palestinian-president |title= 'Dweik is real Palestinian president' |first=Khaled |last=Abu Toameh |author-link=Khaled Abu Toameh |date=25 June 2009 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=3 September 2024}}

}}

• Encyclopedia of World Biography: Supplement #27 (Thomson-Gale, 2007) pp. 1–3.

{{sister project links|c=Category: Mahmoud Abbas|d=yes|q=yes|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no}}

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