Sources: Abbas may resign from PLO Executive Committee
Ma'an quotes Palestinian sources as saying president considering quitting PLO, Fatah committees after announcing he won't seek re-election. 'He'll carry out threat if Israel not pressed on settlements,' source says
After announcing last week that he would not seek re-election, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may resign from additional political posts he is currently holding.
According to the Ma'an news agency, Abbas is considering resigning from the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Executive Committee and the Fatah Central Committee.
Ma'an quoted Palestinian officials as saying Tuesday that Abbas is waiting for the appropriate moment to announce his resignation from the PLO and Fatah governing bodies, adding that his announcement that he will not seek reelection as president was "serious" and not a political maneuver.
The Palestinian elections are scheduled for January 24, 2010.
However, Palestinian sources told Ynet that the results of the recent meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama may affect Abbas' future steps.
"If following Monday night's meeting in Washington Abbas will get the sense that his message came across and that there is a chance for serious negotiations, he will reverse his decision and stay on as president," one of the sources said.
"But if the international community will continue to show indifference and fail to pressure Israel (regarding settlement construction), then he will carry out his threat."
Should Abbas resign as Palestinian Authority president, Parliament Speaker Abdul-Aziz Duwaik, who is a member of Hamas, will assume the post until elections are held.
