One of the more amusing yet accurate descriptions of the Sep. 30 General Assembly address by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was written by my colleague, Mahmoud Daher, a former reporter for a Palestinian TV station and currently a human rights activist in the Gaza Strip. “The rocket of Mohammed Assaf, the singer from Arab Idol, was more powerful than Abbas’ bombshell,” he quipped on his Facebook page. This was, by and large, the sentiment of the Palestinians who eagerly awaited their president’s speech. Two weeks ago, in an interview with Al-Quds al-Arabi, Abbas promised to drop a bombshell during his UN address.
The term “bombshell” cannot be dismissed offhandedly, particularly when it comes to the highly-charged relationships between Israelis and Palestinians. That promise elicited a frenzy of rumors among the Palestinians and intrigued the Israelis. Palestinian Authority (PA) position holders, journalists, commentators and “mavens” with whom Al-Monitor talked after the Al-Quds al-Arabi interview were inclined to think that in his UN address Abbas would declare that he was stepping down. Others opined that given his frustration, he would announce the dismantling of the PA.
