Abbas, Fayyad in spat over letter to Netanyahu

Report: Abbas refusing to answer Fayyad's telephone calls and other attempts to reach him.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Bibi netanyahu (photo credit: JPost Staff)
Bibi netanyahu
(photo credit: JPost Staff)
There has been a break between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, after Fayyad refused to deliver a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on behalf of Abbas last Tuesday, sources informed London-based Al Quds Al-Arabi on Monday.
The sources said that a "silent crisis" has grown between the two, especially after Abbas has ignored recent attempts by Fayyad to discuss a reshuffling of the cabinet, an important issue which has been floated as a possibility and had been a matter that the two were to have discussed.
According to the report, Abbas is refusing to answer Fayyad's telephone calls and other attempts to reach him to move forward with coordinating on the above cabinet issue.
A number of others in the Fatah leadership are also inciting Abbas against Fayyad regarding the incident. 
Abbas had declared that Fayyad would head the Palestinian delegation to transfer the letter formally presenting Netanyahu with the Palestinian Authority's positions on the peace process.
The Palestinian president considered Fayyad's involvement, in his capacity as the second ranking leader of the Palestinians, important to send a message that the Palestinians were serious about making peace.
In the absence of Fayyad's involvement, Abbas was forced to send lower ranking Palestinian representative Saeb Erekat and intelligence chief Majid Faraj to meet with Netanyahu.
The picture of lower ranking Palestinian officials with Israel's prime minister as well as the last minute nature of the change to Fayyad's involvement caused Abbas substantial public embarrassment, according to the report.