(Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs) Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch - The decision of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, 89, to issue a "constitutional declaration" appointing Rawhi Fattouh, the Chairman of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), to "temporarily serve as PA President pending the holding of presidential elections," signifies, in essence, the final nail in the coffin of the Palestinian Authority. It is the latest in a series of decisions made by Abbas over the last six years, all intended to replace the PA bodies with those of the Palestine Liberation Organization, over which Abbas and his Fatah party have complete dominance. Abbas' choice of Fattouh as his interim replacement was not a positive appointment of a successor, but rather a function of Abbas finally imposing the PLO on the PA after he had dismantled the PA's electoral and governing mechanisms, as designated by the Oslo Accords, and replaced them with the PLO. The writer, Director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center, was director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria.
2024-12-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive