AP Discovers Abbas 'Struggles for Role,' Forgetting Who Empowered Him
The AP's poignant piece on 90-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas struggling for relevance in Gaza is a masterclass in selective amnesia. They note he's 'deeply unpopular' and 'marginalized by Israel,' but conveniently omit the decades of international financial and political backing (from the US and Europe) that propped up his authoritarian rule in the West Bank while systematically
sidelining any genuine Palestinian self-determination. It's almost as if 'Western-backed' translates to 'tolerated until inconvenient.' This 'unpopular' leader was the chosen partner for 'peace processes' (read: land annexation deals), with Washington consistently prioritizing a compliant (if toothless) PA over a truly representative Palestinian leadership. Now, the AP wonders why he 'struggles
for a say' in Gaza, a territory his Fatah faction hasn't controlled since 2007, thanks in part to US efforts to undermine Hamas victory. One might wonder if his 'struggle' is less about age and more about being a figurehead whose utility is finally expiring. They report 'Palestine's hopes for a state appear dimmer than ever.' Perhaps that's because Abbas's entire 'agenda' was predicated on a
two-state solution that was never intended to materialize.