PA President Abbas plans to 'drop bombshell' in anticipated UN speech

Abbas refrains from elaborating on what he plans to say at UN General Assembly, while some predict he will announce resignation or cancellation of Oslo Accords with Israel.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Updated: SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 06:09
PA President Mahmoud Abbas (C) at a meeting for the Central Council of the PLO, in Ramallah, March 4, 2015 (photo credit: REUTERS)
PA President Mahmoud Abbas (C) at a meeting for the Central Council of the PLO, in Ramallah, March 4, 2015
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted on Thursday as saying that he plans to “drop a bombshell” at the end of his speech during the United Nations General Assembly session at the end of this month.
“I will drop a bombshell at the end of my speech, but I’m not going to reveal now the nature of this bombshell,” Abbas told the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper.
Abbas’s remarks sparked a wave of speculation about his intention.
Some Palestinians predicted that he would either announce his resignation or the cancellation of the Oslo Accords with Israel.
In recent years, Abbas has repeatedly threatened to step down or abrogate all agreements with Israel.
But in the past few months, some of Abbas’s close confidants have made it clear that he has plans to retire before the end of the year. Some claimed that Abbas would use the UN General Assembly podium to announce his resignation.
Palestinian political analysts belittled Abbas’s latest “bombshell” threat and pointed out that Palestinians have become accustomed to hearing this type of rhetoric from the PA president.
Analyst Hani al-Masri said that Abbas should focus on “reorganizing the Palestinian home” instead of issuing threats to quit. “The talk about surprises does not benefit the Palestinians now,” al-Masri said, referring to Abbas’s threat to drop a bombshell. “If he wants to resign, that’s his right. But he should reorganize the Palestinian home before he leaves to avoid anarchy.”
Another political analyst, Jihad Harb, said no one knows exactly what’s going on inside the mind of Abbas – not even those who are the closest to him.
Harb predicted that Abbas’s bombshell would include a declaration that he has no intention to run in future presidential elections.
Talal Okal, a Gaza-based political analyst, told the Al-Watan Voice website that he predicted that Abbas was planning to announce his decision to abrogate the Paris Agreement and suspend security cooperation with Israel. Okal ruled out the possibility that Abbas would announce his resignation during his speech at the General Assembly, saying conditions were not ripe for such a move.
Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, said in a terse statement that the speech at the General Assembly would be “historic.” He did not elaborate.