Palestinian leader Abbas marginalized in post-war Gaza role.

2 hours ago7 min read

As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas marks his 90th birthday, his political stature resembles a state in terminal decline, a sovereignty eroded not merely by time but by strategic marginalization on multiple fronts. Holding authoritarian control over fragmented West Bank enclaves while being systematically weakened by Israeli policy, Abbas represents a leadership paradox—technically in power for two decades yet functionally impotent, deeply unpopular among his own people, and increasingly irrelevant in determining Gaza's post-war future.His presidency, now the world's second-longest serving after Cameroon's 92-year-old Paul Biya, has been characterized by perpetual emergency rule that suspended democratic processes, creating a political vacuum that has left Palestinians leaderless at precisely the moment they require unified direction. This deterioration echoes historical patterns where aging revolutionary leaders, having transitioned from liberation movements to governance, often struggle to adapt to new geopolitical realities—much like Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe or Cuba's Fidel Castro in their later years.The current crisis exposes the fundamental weakness of the Palestinian Authority, which critics argue has become little more than a security subcontractor for Israeli interests in the West Bank, its legitimacy hemorrhaging through corruption allegations, security coordination with Israel despite ongoing settlement expansion, and inability to deliver either sovereignty or economic prosperity. With Gaza's destruction creating a power vacuum that multiple regional actors—including Egypt, Qatar, and potentially a revitalized Hamas—seek to fill, Abbas faces the humiliating prospect of being bypassed in negotiations over Gaza's future despite the PA's theoretical role as the internationally recognized Palestinian governing body.The Biden administration's repeated calls for a 'revitalized Palestinian Authority' to assume control of post-war Gaza ring hollow when the current leadership lacks both popular mandate and functional capacity, having lost its last democratic legitimacy when Abbas dissolved the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2018. Meanwhile, Israel's strategy appears deliberately designed to prevent the emergence of any cohesive Palestinian leadership, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich even withholding tax revenues from the PA to accelerate its collapse.The historical parallel here is stark—much like the Allied powers' deliberate fragmentation of German authority after World War I created conditions for extremism, the systematic weakening of Palestinian institutions risks producing even more radical alternatives to Abbas's Fatah movement. As regional powers jockey for influence over Gaza's reconstruction—with Egypt concerned about border security, Qatar funding reconstruction, and the United Arab Emirates seeking political influence—the absence of a legitimate Palestinian leadership capable of negotiating on equal terms threatens to transform the territory into a permanent protectorate under international administration rather than a step toward statehood. The tragedy of Abbas's final political chapter mirrors that of many aging leaders who outstay their revolutionary legitimacy: having failed to build institutions stronger than his own personality, his eventual departure may leave not a succession plan but a power struggle that further fragments Palestinian national aspirations at their most vulnerable historical moment.

#lead focus news

#Mahmoud Abbas

#Palestinian Authority

#West Bank

#Gaza conflict

#leadership crisis

#unpopular

#Israel

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