First time I/P diary and will try keep it short. In fact it's not much I/P as it is just /P. News coming out of the holy land Monday night is that Palestinian President Mohmoud Abbas has told Obama in a phone call that he is resigning.
Haaretz
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. President Barack Obama that he intends to resign his post, Channel 10 television reported on Monday.
According to the report, the Palestinian leader told Obama during a telephone conversation last week that he sees no chance of advancing the peace process with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in power.
Also from the Haaretz piece.
Channel 10 also reported that Abbas communicated to the White House his disappointment in the administration's "capitulation" to Jerusalem on the issue of West Bank settlement construction.
According to the report, Abbas has called for an election on Jan 24st and will not be running.
Obviously this is a huge blow to the already stalled Peace talks if it turns out to be correct. Channel 10, the second biggest channel in Israel, is reporting it based on Israeli officials who have learned of it (presumably from the American side).
Maan News Agency reports that the chairman of the PLO and Abbas ally Yasser Abed Rabbo is denying the report. But also confirms that there was a phone-call between Abbas and Obama on Friday and that Obama will send Hillary Clinton to the area shortly to "encourage the situations for the better."
Maan News
Abed Rabbo said he "witnessed the phone call between President Abbas and President Obama and the talks did not have anything to do to with Abbas resigning. However Obama said that [US Secretary of State] Hilary Clinton will visit the area soon to encourage the situations for the better."
According to the Palestinian Authority, Obama phoned Abbas on Friday to reiterate his commitment to a peace process resulting in a sovereign Palestinian state. It was not immediately clear, however, if this was the conversation referred to in the Israeli reports.
So all in all still not confirmed with both Haaretz quoting Israeli officials and Maan News quoting Palestinians officials. But I think here the truth could lay with Haaretz since it is not in the Palestinian officials interests to announce this before it has been confirmed by Abbas himself.
And of course if there are elections on Jan 24th due to an Abbas resignation Hamas are likely to sweep up major gains in the West Bank. All of which bodes badly for Obama's peace plan with two hardcore leaders/parties on either side of the negotiating table.
** Update **
Jerusalem Post has now weighed in.
Tayeb Abdel Rahim, a senior aide to Mahmoud Abbas, on Monday night denied a Channel 10 report claiming that the Palestinian Authority president was seriously considering resigning.
According to the report, over the past few days, Abbas sent fierce messages to the White House, threatening to step down and saying he would not participate in the next Palestinian elections, no matter when they are held.
Senior PA negotiator Saeb Erekat refused to comment on the reports, according to Israel Radio.
Thanks to Limelite in comments. Seems that a lot of denials of the story from Palestinian officials so we will see.
US president Barack Obama personally telephoned Abbas in order to calm him, the TV station reported.