Abbas 'doesn't want to stand again'
05/11/2009 - 19:01:13Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said tonight he does not want to run for re-election in January polls.
Mr Abbas said the stalemate in peace negotiations with Israel prompted his decision not to run again.
He charged the US with backtracking on its Mideast policy and refusing to press Israel to freeze construction in its West Bank settlements.
Abbas held a televised speech this evening, saying he had told his “brothers” in the Palestinian leadership of his “desire not to run in the upcoming elections”.
Officials from Abbas’s Fatah Party say they have no leading candidate to replace him.
Despite the announcement, activists say Abbas could be persuaded to change his mind.
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