Al-Monitor Discovers Abbas Exists, 17 Years Later
The story positions Mahmoud Abbas, 17 years into an expired presidential term and governing only isolated West Bank enclaves under Israeli military occupation, as actively 'jostling' for influence. This framing conspicuously omits the crucial context: Abbas’s authority is a construct of the very powers now discussing Gaza's future. His 'seat at the table' was never truly his to begin with; it was
a prop provided by Washington and its allies, conditional on maintaining a status quo that has systematically disempowered Palestinians since the Oslo Accords. How much 'jostling' does a puppet need when its strings are pulled by the very hands arranging the furniture? The media's performative surprise at Abbas's desire to participate in discussions about his own people's future is a masterclass
in obfuscation. It ignores the institutionalized disenfranchisement that reduces him to this 'jostling.' It neatly sidesteps the question of why, when Palestinian lives are being debated, their chosen representatives (those not deemed 'terrorists' by Western powers) are not automatically invited to the discussion, but instead must 'jostle' for a whisper in the echoing chambers of international
indifference.