Arabic news sites are buzzing today over a report from a UAE paper that Mahmoud Abbas has decided that he will not return to Ramallah following his European trip, which currently has in him Russia, and will instead rule from abroad.
According to the report, the source is an Israeli MK (Member of Knesset). Rumors are swirling that Ahmad Tibi is the MK.
According to the source, Abbas is not returning to Ramallah because he fears that he will face the same fate as Yasir Arafat.
The report seems very skeptical, and has been around for at least a couple of days already.
Nimer Hammad, one of Abbas’ advisers, has denied it saying that “the news about Abbas leaving Palestine due to fear of being targeted by Israel, as happened to Arafat, is not true at all.”
Abbas has been in Russia since Thursday and is scheduled to be there for six days. I guess we will find out whether the report is true after his trip.
