Report: Abbas may not run for re-election

October 26, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The Palestinian Authority president has threatened not to run for re-election, given the state of peace talks, an Israeli TV channel reported.

President Mahmoud Abbas is said to have told White House officials that the peace process cannot advance under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he will not seek re-election when Palestinian elections, which he recently called for the end of January, are held, Israel's Channel 10 reported Monday evening.

Abbas also was reportedly angry that the Obama administration "abandoned" him and "capitulated" to Israel on a settlement freeze, Channel 10 reported.

The PA president also reportedly said that that his Fatah Party, which controls the West Bank, would never be able to reconcile with Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Channel 10 reported that President Obama called Abbas personally in response.

A senior aide to Netanyahu told the newscast that the Israeli leader has "taken several steps in order to resume the peace process, as the U.S. government is well aware."

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