Abbas

Speaking in the West Bank city of Ramallah, President Abbas said he would consult with rival factions to try to end the bloodshed.

Wednesday, Mr. Abbas initially said he would not resume the negotiations unless a cease-fire went into effect in Gaza.

In an interview on Israeli television, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he is ready to start indirect peace talks.

In his remarks, Mr. Abbas said he also fully expects to reach a peace agreement with Israel by the end of this year.

Mr Abbas said he had no right to like or dislike Israel's democratically elected prime minister as his legitimate interlocutor.

His outfit, a gift from Shah Abbas, was like an Isfahan grandee's ceremonial uniform, topped by a turban bigger than his head.

And in the bazaar, Gulle Abbas, a dalai aged around 65, also said he would be the last of his kind.

At the start of his meeting with Mr. Abbas, Mitchell said the Obama administration will persist with its efforts to keep the talks on track.

He said recognition of Israel was key and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, had been bold.

Abbas said the Hamas-led government must be given a chance to adapt to the basic requirements of the international community.

He said there would be a renewed attempt to reconcile Hamas and its rival Fatah, which counts Abbas among its leaders.

Mr Abbas , sitting in the West Bank, did not declare a state of emergency until Hamas militants were ransacking his Gaza home.

But she said that it is possible to resolve the core issues facing Netanyahu and Abbas within one year.

The American Congress seems bent on weakening Mr Abbas by withholding funds, to punish him for his UN bid.

The US president was dismissive of Abbas's plan to ask the security council to recognise Palestine as a state.

the Shi'ite kingdom of Persia under Abbas the Great was quite prepared to ally with European states against the Ottomans.

But a few days ago, leaders from President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party said that they had lost hope in the American administration.

A few days after Mr Abbas said he had had enough, Binyamin Netanyahu was meeting Mr Obama in the White House.

Both Israel and the U. S. see Mr. Abbas as the key to reviving the peace process and ending more than five years of bloodshed.

In Ramallah, a spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, welcomed the result but said he wanted to see action.

Lower-level officials will meet next week to work out a plan for the next meeting between Netanyahu and Abbas, Mitchell said.

Since the suicide bombing in Jerusalem over a week ago, Abbas has suspended talks with Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas.

Had Mr Abbas said yes, it might have been hard for a future Israeli government to back out.

Aso is in the evening with Palestinian National Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during a telephone conversation he said.

A year and a half after its election win, Hamas violently evicted Mr Abbas's Fatah from the Gaza Strip.

Pakistan army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Wednesday's operation was an unprecedented violation of those guidelines.

Mr Abbas said the compound should be untouched so it could remain a piece of history.

Abbas ibn Firnas was the first person to make a real attempt to construct a flying machine and fly.

He said to meet Mahmoud Abbas, the President of Palestinian authority.

But Mr Abbas of DawnNews disputes the impression that English is exclusive to just a few.

For the moment, Hamas rejects the idea as a trick for Mr Abbas and his foreign friends to undermine the elected government.

President Abbas promised the airport would reopen soon and be ready to welcome visitors.

By negotiation and reconciliation, said Mr Abbas, he would ensure that the Palestinians speak with one voice. "Leave it to us. "

Mr Netanyahu and the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, both say they are ready to resume talks without preconditions.

Diplomats said the proposed compromise would see Abbas submit his letter to the security council, which would then defer action.

That's, in large part, because of our respect for President Abbas and what he's trying to do.

Mr Abbas came close to agreement with Ehud Olmert, a former Israeli leader, at least on borders.

But Mr Abbas's people say none of this would be enough to bring him back to the table.

For the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, the outlook for acquiring a proper state looks as bleak as ever, at least in the short run.

Hebron resident Mufid Sharabti said the speech by Abbas, often called Abu Mazen, was an important step.

Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the authorities watched the group for months.

Q: Palestinian President Abbas has formally summited Palestine's application to the United Nations to be a full UN member.

"It was the army's duty to come in aid of the civil power, " says the army's spokesman, Major-General Athar Abbas.

An Iranian transplanted to Paris, Abbas has dedicated himself to documenting the political and social life of societies in conflict.

Palestinian analyst Wadia Abu Nasser says Mr. Abbas is not strong enough to take on the powerful Islamic militant group, Hamas.

Messrs Abbas and Haniyeh are trying to pull things back from the brink and to negotiate.

Commander Abbas says they failed to offer their sons and, consequently, their areas of the district will not be defended.

Abbas admitted that the Palestinians into a joint proposal to suffer big international resistance.

Ehud Olmert, a former Israeli prime minister, previously negotiated the release of a larger number of Palestinian prisoners with Mr Abbas.

Abbas is expected to serve until elections - a date which Hamas and Fatah have not been able to agree upon.

And while the military is not ruling out a future military offensive there, Abbas said, right now, the army's focus is in Swat Valley.

Israel fears if it hands full security control of Jenin to Mr. Abbas, Palestinian suicide bombers will soon return to Israeli cities.

In any event, as things stand, the amiable but tired Mr Abbas may be around for quite a while yet.

Mr. Abbas has said the negotiations will be called off if Israel fails to extend the freeze.

I wish to thank President Abbas for his presence here and also the ministers of the Arab League who have joined us.

A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel's new government must be committed to a two-state solution.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whose people were the subject and focus of the summit, called for Palestinian unity.

The chairman of the committee, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, was re-elected by a show of hands.

The office of Mr. Abbas issued a statement saying the bombing was part of an internal dispute within Hamas.

Abbas, his half-brother, is revered for fighting by his side. Their tombs are in the respective shrines.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will address the U. N. General Assembly on Friday. Afterward, Mr.

And unfortunately for Abbas, he will not be able to negotiate a deal that will be acceptable to ordinary Palestinians.

He will likely not call off the talks, but might try to possibly leverage some conciliatory talk out of Abbas.

Pakistan's Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas says he would welcome more NATO forces patrolling the Afghan side of the border.

"You will not find any discussion about this in the Pakistani discourse, " says Abbas.

He is scheduled to be in the West Bank on Tuesday for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas at his Ramallah office Thursday before ending her Middle East trip with a stop in Amman to meet Jordan's King Abdullah.

Indeed, the sneers of Hamas against Mr Abbas appeal to quite a few of the villagers.

Since then, Mr Abbas has faced an unprecedented barrage of criticism, often from his closest allies.

The Fatah faction shrinks from elections, unable to agree on a leader to replace Mr Abbas, who wants to retire.

"The Turkish model [of government] is not far from our ideology, " says Muhammad Abbas, a prominent young Brother.

She stressed the main work will have to be done by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

N. move. In an effort to calm concern abroad, Abbas is likely to stick with his respected prime minister, Salam Fayyad.

Even if he wanted to, Mr Netanyahu would find it hard to cut a deal with Mr Abbas and keep his coalition together.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed Medvedev to Jericho, where the two signed a number of cooperation agreements.

Mitchell's schedule on Monday included shuttling to the West Bank town of Ramallah for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Neither Mr Netanyahu nor Mr Abbas seems ready or able to begin negotiations, let alone agree to lasting peace.

In rallies at Mr Abbas's West Bank headquarters, the yellow flags of his Fatah group are increasingly speckled with Hamas's green.

Abbas is to install an emergency government in the place of the dissolved unity government and name an independent Prime Minister.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas asked the Council to hold an emergency meeting to stop the Israeli aggression.

Gen. Athar Abbas, the chief Pakistan military spokesman, said he hadn't seen the ISI report.

Silk was exchanged for gold and silver with which Shah Abbas paid for Isfahan.

His lawyer Abbas Kazmi, appointed in the teeth of public hostility, described Kasab as a "vulnerable young man" prone to mood swings.

Major General Abbas insisted the officials did not authorize cross-border ground assaults such as Wednesday's raid in South Waziristan.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas swore in an emergency government Sunday and outlawed Hamas militants.

Abbas has asked Israel to halt its Jewish settlements in the West Bank of the construction, as a precondition for resuming peace talks.

The truth, as Mr Bush and Ms Rice, as well as Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas, certainly know, is starkly different.

A senior administration official declined to discuss details of the meeting between Mr. Obama and Mr. Abbas.

Mr. Bush spoke during talks at the White House with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hamas ousted the Fatah forces of U. S. -backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a civil war two years ago.

Today, Mr. Abbas heads a more moderate government in the West Bank, but Israel fears he could be toppled by Hamas.

Abbas was anxious to end the schism as he tries to get the United Nations to back Palestinian statehood (4) in September.

Mr. Abbas says new possibilities have opened up for Palestinian forces to deploy and bring security to new areas.

Moreover, the Islamists have achieved a prisoner exchange with Israel of a magnitude which defied the mild Mr Abbas.

He denies a report that he sought to meet the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, but was rebuffed.

Abbas said no one "with a shred of conscience" could reject the Palestinian application for full U. N. membership.

Israel, to its credit, has seized on recent events to transfer money to the Abbas regime and start the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Mr. Abbas also promised that the Palestinian Authority would rebuild all the homes demolished by Israel over the past five years.

Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, his successor as president of the Palestinian Authority, signed solemn agreements with Israel saying so.

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has confirmed that he'll ask for full membership of the United Nations next week.

But Pakistan Army Spokesman Athar Abbas tells VOA that the troop movements are not what he called an "ominous buildup. "

It followed a bigger blunder: Israel's failure after Yasser Arafat's death to work seriously with his moderate successor, Mahmoud Abbas.

Zainab Bibi, 32, was arrested in connection with the murder Tuesday of her husband Ahmad Abbas, police said.

In his remarks, Palestinian President Abbas condemned rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip that target towns in southern Israel.

In Mingora the Taleban are said to have taken up positions in residential areas and to have mined the main roads.

In his view, Mr Abbas and Fatah have done so with humiliating frequency.

Israel has not commented on the issue, but U. S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Mr. Abbas' proposal is worth studying.

Abbas, although elected, cannot speak for all the Palestinians or all the organizations that operate on Palestinian territory.

Diplomats said negotiations were likely to come down to the wire as Abbas plans to submit the request on Friday.

It falls to him to do things that might make Mr Abbas more popular, such as reducing the number of checkpoints that throttle the West Bank.

There was little else Mr Abbas could do on a day when the anger reached new levels on the Palestinian street.

But that will not help Mr Abbas in his quest to relaunch meaningful negotiations with Israel.

The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is refusing to resume talks unless the building decision is revoked.

At a demonstration in Ramallah, Palestinian factions urged Mr. Abbas to stand firm against direct talks.

Separately, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is seeking urgent consultations with Arab leaders regarding Obama's address.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for three hours at his residence in Jerusalem.

Plainly, though, the prisoner deal will enhance Hamas's standing with the Palestinian public, presumably at the expense of Mr Abbas.

Abbas has threatened to declare a date for a national referendum on the program, which Hamas opposes.

Mr. Obama is set to travel to the West Bank on Thursday to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

The Fatah Party of President Abbas has urged him not to continue direct peace talks unless Israel reinstates the freeze.

Abbas from Iran, now living in Sweden, says it is goodtouse your brain becausethecalculators are not always available.

Abbas announced a cease-fire, while Sharon promised to end Israeli military operations in the territories if the Palestinian violence stops.

Mr Abbas mooted the possibility of an international committee to oversee the city's holiest sites.

"We will celebrate seven days and seven nights, " promised Mohammed Abbas, one of the organizers.

Yesterday, I had a constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas.

Abbas says the law will reward different levels of scientists and innovators depending on their scientific achievements.

President Abbas told reporters it will be difficult to reach a peace agreement if the building does not stop.

Mr Abbas, usually a voice of restraint in Palestinian politics, this time joined the attacks on Israel, accusing it of harming worshippers.

On Sunday, Pakistani Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas defended Islamabad's decision to negotiate with the militants.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he has asked the United States to intervene in the settlements dispute.

Major-General Athar Abbas, Pakistan's chief military spokesman, was not immediately available for comment.

Mr. Abbas spoke as Israel temporarily lifted its blockade of Gaza to allow emergency fuel, food, and medicine into the territory.

The peace process Israel launched last autumn with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, exemplifies this.

General Abbas also says the military has forces deployed throughout the northwest in case there is a backlash against the offensive.

Nor will Mr Abbas want to be seen punishing 1. 4m of his own citizens living in Gaza.

After the explosion, is visiting Morocco, the Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack said.

Mahmoud Abbas, who professes to be president for all Palestinians, stays away.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the suspension of peace talks, accusing Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza.

Fatah leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas now heads a more moderate government in the West Bank.

Moreover, the Palestinian Authority (PA), which Mr Abbas heads, depends on American cash.

Abbas also outlawed Hamas' armed group and the Executive Forces and refused to hold any dialogue with Hamas.

Mr Abbas made Mr Dahlan, Hamas's nemesis , secretary of a new national security council.

Abbas and Hamas also felt internal pressure over the disunity and wanted to head off protests in their own backyard.

"I understand English, " said Mr Netanyahu, after meeting Barack Obama and the Palestinians' leader, Mahmoud Abbas, in New York.

"There's a plan to snatch Karachi from the MQM, " says Haider Abbas Rizvi, an MQM member of the national parliament from Karachi.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has described the Israeli offensive as "brutal aggression. "

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are scheduled to meet Monday.

Mr Abbas's men have laboured to harness rural vigilantes to ensure that demonstrations are confined to the West Bank cities they control.

They declare the legitimate ruler to be not Mr Abbas but the global jihadist leadership.

Ministers in Israel's ruling coalition repeatedly raise the possibility that Hamas might one day oust Mr Abbas's milder Palestinian party.

She held talks first with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Abu Dhabi, and then came to Jerusalem to meet Israeli official here.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Clinton is due to travel to the West Bank for meetings with President Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas, Muslims, traveled to Bethlehem to attend the Mass.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas urged the Israeli leader to abandon any plan to disregard Palestinian views on the border issue. Mr.

Abbas and his conservative Arab allies say Hamas serves Iranian and Syrian interests, a charge it denies.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was visiting Moscow, telephoned Reuters in Gaza to express his condolences.

Whereas Mr Abbas was willing to negotiate a demilitarised state with Israel, Hamas is bolstering its armed forces.

Abbas himself has faced arrest by Egyptian authorities, but the content he has posted on his blog is making a difference.

Mahmoud Abbas became Palestine's new prime minister after Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat was forced to agree to share his power.

Abbas said that a lasting peace can only be achieved through dialogue , calling on all parties to exercise mutual respect.

It is time to soften the economic pressure and negotiate a detailed promise of statehood that Mr Abbas can take to his people.

Mahmoud Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority president by a landslide.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to attend the Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

For a start, it soon became unclear whether Mr Abbas really would step down. He has often threatened to resign.

Mahmoud Abbas vowed to continue the search for a two-state solution with Israel.

Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas were set to launch a new round of peace negotiations in Washington Thursday.

Rice spoke at a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Israel says Mr. Abbas must stop terrorism, if there is to be any chance of resuming peace talks.

Nonetheless, Abbas can claim a diplomatic success in forcing the most serious effort to kickstart peace negotiations in years.

But President Abbas is also under pressure not to walk out, and he will not want to be blamed for the failure of the talks.

Mr Abbas says he'll walk out of the talks if building resumes.

Not now -- because Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cannot really provide us with the security we want.

Indeed, Mr Abbas has also promised fresh elections, in the hope that, thanks to improvements on the West Bank, his Fatah group will win.

However a spokesman for the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, rejected his offer.

Mr Abbas is faced with scepticism and division among his own people too.

Major-General Abbas says tens of thousands of troops have rescued more than 19, 000 people from marooned areas, using helicopters and boats.

Rice spoke at a news conference in Amman, Jordan with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas has come under intense pressure from the US and European nations to avoid forcing Washington to wield its veto.

And Mecca suggests that Mr Abbas has little desire at present to take Hamas on either with guns or at the polling booth.

Mr. Abbas has ruled out any cooperation with Hamas on the border issue, until Hamas agrees to restore his authority in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas submitted the request for UN recognition to the secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, shortly before his speech.

While preparing for confrontation with Hamas in Gaza, Israel is taking steps to strengthen President Abbas in the West Bank.

Speaking to VOA, army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas distanced the Pakistani military from the incident.

But Major General Abbas said Wednesday's assault was especially worrying because there were no reports of militants in the area.

The Israeli leader's speech drew immediate criticism from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

He is scheduled to hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Paradoxically, though, Israel's interest in restoring trade may be greater than Mr Abbas's.

Hamas believes in armed struggle, while Abbas says that dialogue and diplomacy are the way forward.

Abbas praised the Palestinian people in the Russian political, economic, cultural, financial, and education, consistent support.

But the plan is failing because Israel cannot make concessions that would give Mr Abbas the necessary boost.

Mr Abbas's intelligence chiefs have intimidated independent journalists who have reported on the crackdown.

Netanyahu renewed a challenge to Abbas to reopen negotiations without preconditions this week, while they are both in New York.

A statement from President Abbas' office says he has called for an immediate investigation.

Mr Abbas is winning praise for his boldness, yet problems dog him at home.

The Egyptian protocol officers decided that Abdullah would arrive first, followed by Abbas and then Sharon.

Mr. Mitchell spoke to reporters after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Abbas will accept only tiny modifications to the pre-1967 border and still upholds the refugees' demand to go back.

It is Mr. Olmert's rapport with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that forms the peace pillar for this conference.

Mr. Abbas asked the United Nations to admit Palestine as a full member based on nineteen sixty-seven borders.

Hebron is the West Bank's largest city and the third to be reinforced with Palestinian police loyal to President Abbas.

Mr. Bush will meet separately with President Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas deployed his police forces in the West Bank town of Jenin on Saturday .

She then returns to Amman for a final consultation with Mr. Abbas.

Intense US pressure initially led Abbas to drop his efforts to secure a vote endorsing the Goldstone report.

Mr Abbas insists a settlement freeze remains the litmus test of Mr Netanyahu's sincerity for concluding a deal.

For now Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, has postponed a decision over whether to continue.

Iranian prosecutor general Abbas Jaafar Dolatabadi is pointing the finger at Western intelligence agencies.

Obama with Israeli President Banjamin Netanyahu, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last month.

Haniyeh and his cabinet resign, but he is re-appointed by Abbas and begins the process of forming a new Palestinian unity government.

The force commander, Sayed Abbas, said local villagers were supportive, but US forces were less so.

U. S. envoy George Mitchell met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Spokesman Abbas said militant tactics in Buner are aimed at increasing civilian deaths.

During a recent meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, President Obama called the current situation unsustainable.

" Abbas said, " We will seek to establish the boundary line in 1967, a Palestinian state as the United Nations Member States.

That will be especially hard for U. S. -backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to achieve.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has announced that he will not seek re-election in polls in January.

President Abbas will visit Egypt next week to discuss a formula for resuming negotiations.

President Abbas must do what I have done.

The Olmert-Abbas talks have gained weight as the peace process falters.

Amid much fanfare, Mr Bush launched peace talks between Israel and Mr Abbas at Annapolis at the end of 2007.

Abbas says the rebels, despite their different backgrounds, all have the same dream.

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert welcomed Mr. Abbas's efforts, but says it is performance that counts.

Speaking late Sunday President Abbas criticized Hamas.

He called Tuesday for Mr. Abbas to cancel the agreement and "choose the path to peace with Israel. "

To the applause of Arabs, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader, walked out.

Mr Abbas's interim government in the West Bank is running the ministries and paying the staff in Gaza too.

Pakistani army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas spoke with reporters late Saturday about the level of devastation in the northwest.

A military spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, said 35 militants were killed in heavy fighting over the previous 24 hours.

General Abbas says a military team has been sent to the scene to investigate the blast.

Abbas and other Palestinian officials indicated that China is a good friend and brother of Palestine.

Dancing horses are trained by Faizal Abbas, a feudal landlord who pursues the hobby at his compound near Multan.

During his meetings, he met separately with Abbas and Netanyahu, Crowley said.

"Last week I met a university student who could not subtract six from forty and used a calculator, " says Abbas.

How can Abbas impose this on the armed groups operating on Palestinian Territory?

A spokesman for Mr. Abbas accused the Israeli leader of sabotaging the peace process.

All have been in Pakistani custody since the raid and will eventually be returned to their country of origin, Abbas said.

Afterwards President Abbas said that Israel must honor its commitments under the Middle East road map to halt all settlement building.

Officials say the 5. 9 magnitude quake was centered near the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm and mainland city of Bandar Abbas.

But the group has been largely inactive since 2005, when Mr. Abbas was elected on a platform of reaching a negotiated peace with Israel.

Mitchell failed Tuesday to persuade Mr. Abbas to engage in direct talks with Israel.

But this strategy carries existential risks for Abbas's government.

Mr Abbas, along with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, may quietly relish Hamas being taken down a peg.

Earlier in the day, Abbas in Bogota, Colombia and Costa Rica President Santos met.

And the longer it does, the less legitimate Mr Abbas's constitutional balancing act will look.

It is nearly twice the amount sought by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israelis, such as Jerusalem resident Haim Ben-Ami, reacted to Abbas's statehood proposal with a mix of hope and concern.

Israel freed 429 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to Abbas.

In the meantime, Mr Abbas could stay in charge as a caretaker.

For the time being, Mr Abbas has reasserted his authority.