Palestinian officials deny Abbas to resign, dismantle PA
Palestinian officials on Thursday denied that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was planning to resign or dismantle the PA.
The denial came in response to unconfirmed reports published in a number of Arab media outlets that claimed that Abbas was about to make a “surprise announcement” in the coming days.
Ghassan Shaka’ah, member of the PLO Executive Committee, described the reports as “unfounded rumors.”
Shaka’ah said that the resignation of Abbas or the dismantlement of the PA was not an “individual matter and requires Palestinian consensus.”
The rumors were sparked by Abbas’s comments during an interview with an Egyptian TV station earlier this week. In the interview, Abbas said that he was about to announce “something surprising and dangerous to the Palestinian people.”
So, how did the rumors of resignation begin? Most likely since he’s already not in office, legally. The PA have been postponing elections for years. He may not even have the legal standing to go to the UN with a proposal for statehood.