RAMALLAH, 14 December 2004 — PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas appeared yeatserday guaranteed of victory in the Palestinian presidential election after the withdrawal of his chief rival but an upsurge of violence underlined the scale of the challenge ahead.
Jailed Intifada leader Marwan Barghouti’s decision late Sunday to drop out of the contest cleared the path for Abbas who is now expected to romp home in the Jan. 9 poll to succeed Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority.
Barghouti’s withdrawal followed massive pressure from the dominant Fatah faction which had been stunned and angered by his original decision to run, announced just hours before the close of nominations on Dec. 1.
Fatah, having already picked Abbas as its official candidate, threatened to expel Barghuti amid fears that he could split the movement down the middle.
The 45-year-old Barghouti, currently serving five life sentences over his role in anti-Israeli attacks, was the only real credible challenger to Abbas.
As the main inspiration behind the four-year Palestinian uprising, Barghouti has huge popular support — in stark contrast to Abbas whose opposition to the militarization of the struggle has won him international respect but little affection at home.
Abbas’s campaign manager hailed Barghouti’s decision yesterday, saying it was proof of his desire for unity.
“We welcome this responsible position expressed by our brother Marwan,” Tayeb Abdelrahim told AFP.
“We believe that he has made the right decision which shows his concern for unity and the need to follow the political line of our eternal leader Yasser Arafat.”
The likelihood of Abbas taking the helm of the Palestinian Authority has boosted hopes of progress in the moribund peace process.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has been indicating that he is now ready to coordinate his previously unilateral plan to pullout of the Gaza Strip with the Palestinians.
However in the aftermath of an attack on an army post which killed five soldiers, Israeli officials warned yesterday that there would be no dealings with the Palestinian Authority until they brought militant groups to heel.
Two Palestinians were also killed in the operation which was conducted jointly by the Islamist faction Hamas and the Fatah Hawks. Israel responded yesterday by firing rockets at an alleged Hamas worshop in Gaza City.
The prospects of Abbas being able to calm the situation will also have hardly been helped by the death of the leader of Hamas’ armed wing in the northern West Bank.
Ihssan Shawahneh was shot dead during a gun battle with Israeli troops early yesterday in the city of Nablus.
Abbas, who ended a two-day landmark visit to Kuwait yesterday, said the 14-year-old rift over Iraq’s invasion of the emirate had been patched up. “The most important thing in this visit is that it has taken place and that it has resolved a situation that was disturbing all of us. Thank God, we are pleased now,” Abbas told a press conference in Kuwait before leaving for Saudi Arabia.
