Mahmoud Abbas

Born on March 26, 1935 (Safed, Palestine)

President of Palestine
Political activist

For over forty years, Palestinian politician Mahmoud Abbas has been the quiet, reasonable man behind the high theater of Palestinian politics. Unlike longtime Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman Yasser Arafat (1929–2004; see entry), who provoked confrontation as he placed Palestinian political claims in the media spotlight, Abbas has preferred to work quietly behind the scenes. Yet Abbas took part in many of the key events in the history of the Palestinian people: he was a founding member of Fatah, the organization that leads the PLO; he led Palestinian negotiators in talks that led to the Oslo Accords of 1993, one of the most important milestones in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict; and he was briefly prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, the ruling body of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories (territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967). Following the death of Arafat late in 2004, Abbas came to the attention of the world when he succeeded Arafat as leader of the PLO. When he was elected president of the Palestinian Authority on January 9, 2005, many hoped that Abbas's quiet pragmatism, or practical

"There is absolutely no substitution for dialogue."

approach, could finally help to bring a more lasting peace to a region torn by war since 1948.

Fled Palestine, then organized Palestinians

Only the sketchiest details are known about Abbas's birth and upbringing. He was born on March 26, 1935, in the Arab village of Safed (also known as Safad or Zefat) in Palestine. Palestine at the time was still operating under British mandate, a system of rule that had been in place since 1920. Jews and Arabs clashed frequently in the late 1930s, as both tried to secure rights to control of the territory. In 1948 the United Nations sponsored a plan to create a Jewish state, called Israel, in part of Palestine. The surrounding Arab nations resented this plan, and the two sides fought a war over who would control the territory. The result was a victory for Israel, and a tragedy for the many Palestinians forced from their homes by the fighting. Abbas's family was among the many who fled their homes, leaving for Syria sometime in 1948.

Holocaust Denial?: The Controversy Over Abbas's Dissertation

Material from Abbas's doctoral dissertation, which he wrote in 1982 and published in Arabic in 1984 (the titled is translated as The Other Side: The Secret Relationship between Nazism and Zionism), has been used by Abbas's critics to question his reputation as a reasonable leader. In the dissertation Abbas claimed that during World War II (1939–45; war in which Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, and their allies defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan) links existed between German Nazis and Zionists (Jews who urged the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine). Abbas also raised questions over the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust (the extermination of Jews by Nazis in concentration camps during the war). These claims enraged many Jews, who cited them as proof that Abbas was not the rational, nonexcessive man that many believed, but someone who was willing to do anything to fight the Jewish state.

Abbas has publicly distanced himself from the negative interpretations of his work. He was quoted in a BBC News Web site profile as saying that he was merely quoting a debate among historians, and declared that "the Holocaust was a terrible, unforgivable crime against the Jewish nation, a crime against humanity that cannot be accepted by humankind."

Just thirteen years old when he was forced from his country, Abbas finished his education in Syria. After high school he laid floor tiles for a time, and then taught in an elementary school. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Damascus in Syria, then studied law in Egypt. He later received a Ph.D. in history from Oriental College in Moscow, Russia, and the doctoral dissertation that he published became a source of some controversy in both the Jewish and Arabian communities (see sidebar).

In the late 1950s Abbas moved to the Arab nation of Qatar, where he worked as a director of personnel in the civil administration of that country. The late 1950s and early 1960s were an important time for Palestinians. Fleeing from Israel in 1948, thousands of Arabs from Palestine, or Palestinians, lived as refugees in many Arab countries in the Middle East. People like Abbas, Arafat, and others realized that the only way for Palestinians to make their voices heard was to organize. In 1957 they created Fatah, which stood for the "movement for liberation of the Palestinian homeland." Fatah became the leading Palestinian political group. At its founding, Fatah was dedicated to the destruction of Israel as a nation. Eventually, Fatah became the leading group in the Palestine Liberation Organization, which was founded in 1964 to bring together a wide number of Palestinian groups.

Behind the scenes in the PLO

Though Abbas was one of the founders of both Fatah and the PLO, it was Yasser Arafat who was publicly proclaimed as the leader of the Palestinian people. Arafat acted as the spokesman, and he became known around the world for his dramatic statements and appearance in full army uniform carrying weapons. Compared to Arafat, Abbas faded into the background. He traveled with Arafat and the PLO leadership throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, living at times in Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia. He was appointed as head of the PLO department of national and international relations in 1980, and eventually became secretary general of the PLO executive committee, the organization's most powerful group. Over the years Abbas earned a reputation as an intellectual and extremely practical man. He thought through the long-term implications of PLO positions and urged its leadership to take an approach that would bring about positive results. He is thought to have been behind secret talks with political groups inside Israel that led to more widespread sympathy for the Palestinian call for an independent state. Abbas always believed that Palestinians could not overcome Israeli opposition through military means, simply because of the vast differences in military power. According to a profile on the CNN Web site, Abbas declared that "The only way [to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict] is the choice of peace. It is impossible to liberate Palestinians with the use of weapons because the balance of power is not with us."

By the 1990s Abbas had a solid reputation and a wide network of contacts on both sides of the conflict. These credentials made him the ideal person to begin a set of secret talks between the PLO and the Israelis in Oslo, Norway, in 1993. Arriving on separate airplanes and meeting in secluded locations, Abbas and his team met with Israeli negotiators to create a historic agreement. Under these agreements, known as the Oslo Accords, both Israel and Palestine recognized each other's existence, Palestinians were given the eventual right to self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and Israeli citizens living in the Occupied Territories were given Israel's protection. The Oslo Accords did not solve all the problems between the two sides, and some of the elements of the agreement had yet to be fulfilled by 2005, but they marked a historic step forward in the conflict. Though Abbas was the PLO representative who signed the agreement on the White House lawn in Washington, D.C., on September 13, 1993, it was Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1922–1995; see entry) of Israel who made the news with their historic handshake and who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for their efforts concerning the agreeement.

Can Abbas rescue the Palestinian Authority?

The Oslo Accords helped pave the way for Abbas's climb to the top of Palestinian politics, though not perhaps in the expected way. The Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority (sometimes called the Palestinian National Authority) to act as the governing body for Palestinian-held territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Yasser Arafat was the head of the Palestinian Authority. While Arafat had been effective as the fiery leader of an outlaw organization, he was less effective as a governor and administrator. In the years after 1993, Arafat proved unable to control Palestinian militant groups who still wanted to fight against Israel. He also proved unable to bring effective administration of health, education, and other services to Palestinians. Moreover, Israel, the United States, and other nations did not trust Arafat because of his past actions, and they refused to negotiate with him. In 2000 Palestinians in the Occupied Territories began an uprising against both Israeli forces and against Arafat's corrupt government. As the uprising continued, Israeli forces placed him under house arrest in his compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Facing the collapse of his government, Arafat turned to Abbas to gain some credibility for the Palestinian Authority. On March 19, 2003, Abbas was named prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. Observers around the world applauded the choice: the United States and Israel extended their approval of the appointment, and the New York Times offered the assessment that "Mr. Abbas is the most important reason there is renewed hope for progress in the Middle East." From the very beginning, Abbas's authority was limited by Arafat himself. Abbas lobbied the Palestinian Authority parliament to grant him more authority to negotiate on their behalf and to improve the delivery of services within the territories. He also wanted the power to crack down on Palestinian terrorist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. But he made little progress with his efforts. Publicly claiming that he was unwilling to govern while Arafat was undermining his power, Abbas resigned as prime minister on September 6, 2003, and from that point on broke off all relations with Arafat.

On November 11, 2004, Yasser Arafat died, leaving a huge hole in the leadership of the Palestinian Authority. Abbas, who had steered clear of the limelight after his resignation, immediately emerged as the likely successor to Arafat as leader of the Palestinians, even though he had never before run for public office. Abbas was not without rivals, but he was the only candidate who offered a reasonable negotiating stance and a plan for ending corruption and bringing efficient government to the Palestinian territories. On November 25, 2004, Fatah endorsed Abbas, virtually assuring his election. Then, on January 9, 2005, in elections that were widely viewed as free and fair, Abbas received over 62 percent of the vote, easily defeating runner-up Mustafa Barghouti (1954–), who received just under 20 percent of the vote.

Abbas's election was hailed as a positive signal for peace in the Middle East. U.S. president George W. Bush (1946–; served 2001–) promised to assist Abbas in his efforts, and Israel's prime minister Ariel Sharon (1928–; see entry) called Abbas to wish him congratulations. Abbas faced grave challenges as the elected president of the Palestinian Authority where he would have complete control over the Palestinian Authority that he did not have as Prime Minister. To have any success at enacting peace plans, he would first need to address the violence between Palestinian terrorist groups and Israeli defense forces. He would also need to initiate sweeping reforms within a government that had been unable to offer police protection, healthcare services, or competent education to its people. Despite these challenges, Abbas has earned the good will of his adversaries and the admiration of his people for his ability as a wise and practical leader and negotiator. As his term began in early 2005, the world waited to see if those qualities would help in bringing peace to the troubled Middle East.

For More Information

Books

Abbas, Mahmoud. Through Secret Channels. Reading, UK: Garnet, 1995.

Periodicals

"Abbas: A Familiar Power Play." Newsweek (January 10, 2005): p. 6.

"Five Arab Leaders Vow Active Fight Against Violence." New York Times (June 4, 2003).

"Israeli and Palestinian Envoys Meet with Bush Aides." New York Times (May 22, 2003).

"The Palestinians' new leader." Economist (January 6, 2005): p. 10.

Web Sites

"Mahmoud Abbas." Wikipedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Abbas#2005_presidential_election (accessed on January 24, 2005).

"Profile: Mahmoud Abbas." Aljazeera.http://english.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/article_full_story.asp?service_id=5615 (accessed on January 24, 2005).

"Profile: Mahmoud Abbas." BBC News.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1933453.stm (accessed on January 24, 2005).

"Who Is Mahmoud Abbas?" CNN.com.http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/07/who.is.abbas/ (accessed on January 24, 2005).