The presence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beirut the weekend of Feb. 25 may have been a coincidence. But when two Palestinians are competing in the final week for the title of Arab Idol, a Palestinian president is unlikely to let the incident go by without being part of the fanfare.

In Beirut, President Abbas arranged to see "Arab Idol" contestants Yacoub Shaheen, from Bethlehem, and Ameer Dandan, from the Galilee village of Majd al-Krum. But more importantly, Abbas hosted and was filmed greeting Ahlam, the flamboyant Emirati member of Middle East Broadcasting Center's "Arab Idol" jury. The third "Arab Idol" finalist, Ammar Mohammad, from Yemen, was also invited to meet with Abbas.

Abbas didn't attend the "Arab Idol" finale filmed in Lebanon, in which Shaheen won the pan-Arab title, but in the front row of the auditorium cheering on the Palestinian contestants were Abbas' son Yaser; the mayor of Bethlehem, Vera Baboun; the director general of Palestine TV, Ahmad Assaf; and businessman Munib al-Masri.

In images shown during that last episode, Abbas is seen conversing with the contestants, telling them he has been following the TV musical contest program for some time.