'Quiet man' Abbas to replace flamboyant revolutionary
Mahmoud Abbas could hardly be more different from the man he seeks to replace. Unlike Yasser Arafat, he likes to work in the shadows, shuns publicity, listens to advisers and deplores violence.
He is the quiet man in the business suit who stood for 40 years by the side of the flamboyant revolutionary in military fatigues and keffiye, whispering pragmatic advice into the ear of the stubborn ideologue.
But Abbas can be just as tough as Arafat on the core issues of the Palestinians’ future.
Abbas, 69, commonly called Abu Mazen, was elected chief of the Palestine Liberation Organisation today, hours after Arafat died in a Paris hospital.
Officials say the unanimous vote by the PLO executive put him on track to be popularly elected president of the Palestinian government after a 60 day transition.
In 2003, when Arafat was compelled under international pressure to create a Palestinian government, Abbas was his first choice for prime minister. Despite years of collaboration, the two men quarrelled over the division of powers, and Abbas walked out four months later.
When in office or before, Abbas never bothered to build a personal following. He disliked being interviewed in the media, and spoke with none of Arafat’s passion and charisma.
Now, his lack of popularity in the street or cadre of loyalists could hamper him in building the support he needs to solidify his firm grip on the fractious, volatile Palestinian organisations and institutions.
Abbas can be moody and holds grudges against those who offend him. When he fell out with Arafat, the two men did not speak until a reconciliation when Arafat became fatally ill earlier this month.
He cut off ties with one of his closest friends, Israeli Arab MP Ahmed Tibi, for two years after a perceived slight.
He has few friends. Unlike Arafat who surrounded himself with cronies, Abbas’ inner circle is small and not particularly intimate.
Also unlike his autocratic predecessor, he prefers to listen rather than talk, and is willing to make collective decisions. After Arafat became incapacitated, he formed an unofficial power-sharing partnership with Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia to run Palestinian affairs.
He has had contacts with the Israelis long before it became acceptable to the Palestinians. From behind the scenes, he guided the secret negotiations in Norway that led to the breakthrough Oslo accords in 1993.
“There is toughness in him,” said former Israeli Cabinet minister Yossi Beilin, who held many sessions with Abbas, usually laced with humour and goodwill. “I wouldn’t say he’s a moderate. He’s pragmatic.”
Early on, Abbas began reading about Israeli culture and society, not only because he wanted to “know the enemy”, but also because it fascinated him. He sought out Arabic translations of Hebrew books, ignoring the derision of some of his colleagues.
He told Beilin he had been surprised to learn that hundreds of thousands of Israelis originally came from Arab countries, not from Europe. He thought they could be a bridge between Palestinians and Jews.
Many Palestinians distrusted Abbas, and thought he was gullible when dealing with the Israelis. He was the first in the Palestinian leadership to denounce the armed uprising against Israel, now in its fifth year, saying the violence was counterproductive to their goals of statehood.
He has been involved, either actively or from a distance, in several peace initiatives with moderate Israelis, but without compromising on what he considers key issues: the right of refugees to reclaim homes in Israel, adherence to the 1967 Mideast boundaries, the establishment of part of Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestine.
As prime minister, he met President George Bush twice and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon several times. He helped launch the road map peace plan, and worked to secure a ceasefire agreement with Palestinian militant groups.
But Sharon refused to help Abbas build grassroots support by releasing Palestinian prisoners, and Arafat, jealously guarding his power, repeatedly undermined his prime minister.
Abbas was born in 1935 in Safad, a Jewish holy city in the north which then had a large Arab population. His family fled to Syria during the 1948 war with the newly created state of Israel. He studied law in Damascus and earned a doctorate in history in Moscow.
Abbas helped found the PLO in 1964 and joined the PLO executive committee in 1980, rising to the number position as secretary-general. He also was a member of the central committee of Fatah, Arafat’s political movement, and of the Palestinian legislature.
He is married and has two sons, both businessmen.
