Abbas decision to withdraw from race draws Israeli, U.S. concern
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Barak Ravid - November 6, 2009 - 1:00am

Israeli and American officials expressed concern over Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's announcement on Thursday that he would not be running for reelection in January. President Shimon Peres telephoned Abbas on Wednesday night in an effort to persuade the Palestinian leader to change his mind. Peres told Abbas that he was worried that the decision would trigger political crisis in the Palestinian Authority, leading to a Hamas takeover in the West Bank.

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Is Abbas just crying wolf again?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Zvi Barel - (Analysis) November 6, 2009 - 1:00am

Resignation, or rather the threat of resignation, is not an invention of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser used to wield the same weapon to boost his public support, and Yasser Arafat would from time to time threaten to quit just to shake up public opinion. It is true that Abbas sounded adamant on Thursday, but within the past year he has made decisive announcements on other matters only to backtrack later. He accepted the resignation of his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, only to reappoint him.

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Hamas dismisses Abbas retirement plans
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - November 6, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' announcement that he won't seek reelection is merely a pressure tactic that merits no serious response, Hamas says. Abbas' retirement threat is directed mostly at his "American and Zionist friends," Hamas Spokesman Dr. Sami Abu Zuhari said. "Abbas sought to let them know that he is dissatisfied with their conduct." Israel and the US have alienated Abbas and are merely using him as a means for their advancing their plans, he said, noting that Abbas' decision is an internal Fatah matter.

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Who can replace Abbas?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - (Opinion) November 6, 2009 - 1:00am

In the wake of Mahmoud Abbas' inclination not to run for-reelection as Palestinian Authority president, the rumor mill is working overtime in respect to possible replacements. Should Abbas follow through on his announcement, we may have to prepare for a new face near the negotiating table: Will it be the honorable President Mohammad Dahlan? Or perhaps Chairman Nasser al-Kudwa? And maybe even President-Prisoner Marwan Barghouti?

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Palestinian president: A dream turned sour
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
(Opinion) November 6, 2009 - 1:00am

Whether he makes good on the pledge he made last night not to stand in next year's elections, or whether he is eventually persuaded to stay, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has had enough already. And it is clear why. He was elected nearly five years ago to negotiate a Palestinian state and has got nowhere, even with two Israeli governments who understand that the alternatives to his leadership are worse. But even the best Palestinian president that Israel is going to get could not stop settlement construction, an obligation Israel signed up to in 2003.

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Poll finds support for Hamas dropping, most support elections
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Bethlehem - Ma’an - Palestinians have flip-flopped in their support for Hamas, which spiked markedly following Israel’s war on Gaza last winter, a poll from the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion said.

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No obvious successor: An interview with Said Zeidani
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Bitterlemons
(Interview) November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

bitterlemons: In the past week we've twice heard reports that Mahmoud Abbas is considering not running for re-election. How serious do you think this is? Zeidani: As far as Abu Mazen [Abbas] personally is concerned, I don't think he is interested in another term. He has expressed his desire to step down and I think he is sincere. The question is whether he will be allowed by his own Fateh faction to do so. I think there will be pressure on him to stay and run for another term. bitterlemons: Why?

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Top Palestinian Rules Out Race for Re-election
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner, Mark Landler - November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, warned on Thursday that he would not seek re-election, the latest sign that the Obama administration’s drive to broker a Middle East peace accord, one of President Obama’s key foreign policy goals, has fallen into disarray.

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Abbas Makes His Move
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
(Editorial) November 5, 2009 - 1:00am

Abbas Momani/Agence-France Press/Getty Images Mahmoud Abbas announcing in a televised speech on Thursday that he will step down as president of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, announced on Thursday that he would not seek re-election in a presidential vote he has called for in January. While he said that this was not a “maneuver,” some of his aides have said that his decision is part of a strategy to persuade President Obama to support a full peace plan for an independent Palestinian state. What’s behind this unexpected announcement?

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Hamas warns of elections decree aftermath
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
November 4, 2009 - 1:00am

GAZA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- A senior Hamas official on Wednesday warned of "dangerous consequences" facing the Palestinians if President Mahmoud Abbas went ahead to stage elections without national agreement.     "The elections should be held with national understanding for the sake of the Palestinian interest," Khalil al-Hayya said at a news conference in Gaza city.

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