Dec 16 2005
Taking charge of things
Daoud Kuttab
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is not in a comfortable position these days. He seems like a nice, fatherly figure in not so nice a neighbourhood. He heads a party (or a movement) which has last held a congress of its activists more than 15 years ago.
He is caught between old leaders, most of whom came to Palestine from abroad, and new leaders who had been part of the Intifada. He is the commander in chief who is unable to secure and protect the Central Election Commission offices. He has an Israeli counterpart who pays little attention to him despite his repeated position against the militarisation of the Intifada. Continue Reading »