Palestinian territories: these controversial decisions by Mahmoud Abbas that make people talk

The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah on May 19, 2020. AP - Alaa Badarneh

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3 min

This Thursday, March 11, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expelled from his party, Fatah, a senior official, Nasser al Qudwa, former permanent representative of Palestine to the UN.

Nephew of Yasser Arafat, Nasser al Qudwa had announced that he would present his own list for the Palestinian legislative elections and sought to create a new party.

While this is a further sign of internal divisions within the party ahead of the upcoming elections scheduled for May, this announcement by Mahmoud Abbas is above all the latest in a long series of decrees and arbitrary decisions.

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With our correspondent in Ramallah,

Alice Froussard

Arbitrary decisions, there have been a lot in recent weeks.

First of all, these modifications - considered suspect - of the electoral law: the age of the candidates who can stand for example, or the fact that the officials of the Palestinian Authority, who want to be part of a list, must resign from their post.

The Palestinians also took very badly a recent decree by the president regulating civil society organizations requiring them to submit their annual action plan to the government.

But there are questions that Mahmoud Abbas has not yet grasped and which would be more urgent;

that of female representation in elections, for example.

It would also be necessary, according to analysts, to reduce the participation fees for the deposit of the lists, to define which authority will be in charge of electoral security in the Gaza Strip and above all, to know whether the presidential election aims to elect a president of the Gaza Strip. 'Palestinian Authority or a President for Palestine.

It must be said that the popularity of Mahmoud Abbas has fallen sharply, he has failed to advance the hopes of a Palestinian state and has not reestablished ties with Hamas.

He is seen as a corrupt ruler, not tough enough with the Israelis.

And one thing is certain: the moment chosen for these decisions is not hazardous just a few months before the elections.

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• Palestinian territories

• Mahmoud Abbas