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Book Review: The Rise and Reign of Mahmoud Abbas
(Wall Street Journal) Adam Rubenstein - Grant Rumley of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Amir Tibon of the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz are the authors of The Last Palestinian: The Rise and Reign of Mahmoud Abbas. They portray Abbas as a corrupt strongman who has overstayed his welcome. By 2009, the ascendant economist-turned-reformer Salam Fayyad, who had been friends with, and a deputy to, Abbas, recognized the need to end corruption in the Palestinian Authority. The two began to feud. Abbas "would become so obsessed with [Fayyad's] challenging his rule that he would attack anyone associated with Fayyad's reform movement." Abbas seems unwilling to reform the "corruption and nepotism - which [are] rampant and deeply ingrained in Ramallah." After his loss to Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections of 2006, Abbas responded by moves to internationalize the conflict with Israel, boosting his standing at home and pushing peace further away. Abbas' story, the authors argue, is a tragic one. He appeared to be the man with the greatest political potential on the Palestinian side to make peace with his neighbors. Instead, he has turned into a power-consolidating silencer of dissent who eulogizes some of the more contemptible impulses of Palestinian nationalism.