RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas decided to fire all his advisers Aug. 19, regardless of their title or ranking. He also canceled all “the decisions and contracts related to them,” and suspended the rights and privileges they received in their advisory capacity.
Abbas’ decision, published by the Palestinian official news agency Wafa, made no mention of the reasons behind the move or the exact number of the fired advisers. But on the same day, Wattan news listed 10 advisers who were allegedly fired, most notably, religious affairs adviser Mahmoud al-Habbash, diplomatic affairs adviser Majdi al-Khalidi and legal affairs adviser Ali Muhanna.