Beyond Images	Challenging Myths and Presenting Facts About Israel
Ex-Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas: I was “thwarted” by my Palestinian brothers
London - published on 23 May 2004 Beyond Images Ref: 95	Click to Print

Summary Former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has stated that he was “thwarted” as leader of the Palestinians by his Palestinian “brothers”. This admission challenges the often-repeated accusation that it was Israel which brought about the downfall of Abbas during 2003, and derailed negotiations with the Palestinians based on the Roadmap for peace.

Abbas’ short-lived role in 2003

In June 2003, at the Aqaba summit, Prime Minister Sharon and recently-installed Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas committed their peoples to the Roadmap, a process of phased negotiations intended to lead to a secure Israel co-existing with a viable Palestinian state.

Within four months, Abbas had resigned. It is often claimed that during those summer months of 2003, Israel did not do enough to bolster Abbas. Instead they allegedly “humiliated” him by giving him “nothing” in return for supposed Palestinian “efforts” to curb the violence.

This accusation is used in order to blame Israel for the failure of the Road Map. When Israel claims there is “no-one to negotiate with” on the Palestinian side, its critics respond by saying that it was Israel that brought about the resignation of Abbas, and thus lost their negotiating partner.

Abbas’ interview with Palestinian journalists

This version of events has now been challenged by an interview given by Mahmoud Abbas to journalists in Ramallah. In the interview, reported in the Jerusalem Post (28 March 2004), Abbas makes clear that while he remains critical of Israel, it would be too simplistic to blame Israel for his resignation.

“Being [Palestinian] Prime Minister was an experience that I don’t want to repeat because it was bitter and painful. I have talked about Sharon’s role in aborting this experience, but unfortunately it was our brothers who thwarted this mission…..” [our emphasis]

He goes on to call for extensive reform of the PLO Executive, which he describes as “paralysed and not doing anything”. And he calls on the Palestinians to fulfil their obligations under the Roadmap (principally to curb the violence), and says that only then can they “demand their rights”.

Our comments

Abbas was widely seen as someone whom Israel could negotiate with. His own comments challenge the accusation that Israel brought about his downfall. While a combination of factors were to blame, Abbas admits that ultimately it was internal Palestinian tensions and opposition which “thwarted” what he was trying to achieve. Without spelling it out, it is obvious that he can only be referring to Yasser Arafat and those around him.

This interview should be made known to those who criticise Israel for Abbas’ fate, and for supposedly derailing the Roadmap at that critical time.