Bethlehem, AFP, 7 January 2016 – Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas dismissed on Wednesday weeks of rumors that the Palestinian Authority could collapse, saying he would “never give up” on it.
Abbas, 80, was speaking publicly for the first time since rumors surfaced last week that he was in poor health, which the PA has categorically denied. He did not discuss the matter and appeared well.
He also spoke as three months of violent attacks by frustrated Palestinian youths on Israeli targets have made the PA and its leadership appear increasingly out of touch.
The PA, the governing authority set up under the 1993 Oslo peace accords with Israel, has faced funding shortages, and its ongoing security cooperation with the Jewish state has been heavily criticized
The PA was meant to be a temporary body until a fully independent Palestinian state was created, but more than two decades after Oslo young Palestinians see little hope of the dream becoming reality – and many do not feel Abbas represents their concerns.
In a recent poll, two-thirds of Palestinians said they believed a new armed uprising, or intifada, would serve “national interests” better than negotiations.
Abbas refused to countenance an end to the PA.
Answering a question about what will happen after the PA, Abbas said “the Authority is here, and after it comes the (Palestinian) state. No one has any other scenarios, and we will not accept another scenario from anyone.”