Dismissed PLO leader denies Dahlan coup plot

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Yasser Abed Rabbo, former secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), launched a scathing critique of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a lengthy interview with Al-Monitor, accusing Abbas of “one-man” rule. “The executive branch, led by Abbas, is in control of all the institutions — whether they are security, political, economic — and the legislature, which is replaced by decrees issued by President Abbas that affect [everyone’s] life,” Rabbo exclaimed.

Abbas dismissed Rabbo from the PLO’s No. 2 post June 30. According to multiple Arab sources, the leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA) accused Rabbo of conspiring with Mohammed Dahlan, an Abbas rival, in an alleged coup attempt. Rabbo dismissed the rumors of such a plot as a “hallucination.”