What made Abbas change position on Gaza war?
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas surprised many, including his Palestinian critics, when he publicly expressed support for armed resistance against Israel in Gaza.
There is little doubt that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was not a fan of Hamas’ strategy and actions when the current war on Gaza began. There is also little doubt that Abbas has made a major change that was reflected in his speech in Ramallah on July 23 to members of the Palestinian leadership that brought him praise from even Islamic Jihad.
What caused the change? Was it something that happened in his visits to Cairo, Doha and Ankara? Was it something that happened within his own Fatah movement or was it because Hamas was standing up to the Israeli ground invasion?
Up until this important speech, the Palestinian leader felt ideologically and politically distant from Hamas and its “resistance” creed and action. Abbas at one time convinced Hamas’ leadership to publicly support “popular resistance” as the preferred way to liberate Palestine. In translating his philosophy, Abbas saw in the Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire a way out of the killing and a return to negotiations. Abbas, who has had a hard time creating chemistry with new Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, accepted the cease-fire formula that the Arab League — and later the United States and Israel — had also approved.
Abbas’ change was made after he canceled a planned visit to Saudi Arabia and coincided with the empty-handed departure of US Secretary of State John Kerry. One tweet from an American Arab leader, Yousef Munayer, joked that Kerry bought a T-shirt in downtown Cairo that read: “I came to Cairo and all I got was a 12-hour cease-fire."
