The unpopular and politically weak 90-year-old Palestinian leader struggles for a role in Gaza

Palestinian President Abbas Turns 90 Amid Diminished Power and Growing Challenges

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas marks his 90th birthday on Saturday, still clinging to authoritarian power in limited areas of the West Bank while facing mounting criticism for his leadership as Palestinians confront an existential crisis.

As the world’s second-oldest serving president after Cameroon’s 92-year-old Paul Biya, Abbas has governed for two decades without holding elections. Critics argue his weakened position has left Palestinians effectively leaderless at a critical juncture when hopes for establishing a Palestinian state—the cornerstone of Abbas’s political agenda—appear increasingly remote.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict has devastated Gaza, with Palestinians and many international observers describing the campaign as genocide, an accusation Israel firmly rejects. Meanwhile, conditions in the West Bank continue to deteriorate, with expanding Jewish settlements and escalating settler attacks against Palestinians. Right-wing allies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have pushed for formal annexation of the territory, which would effectively eliminate any possibility of Palestinian statehood.

Current U.S. proposals for post-war Gaza governance have deferred to Israel’s refusal to allow Abbas’s Palestinian Authority (PA) to administer the territory. Critics fear this approach will result in Gaza being governed by an international body dominated by Israel’s allies, leaving Palestinians without meaningful representation or a path to statehood.

“He has put his head in the sand and has taken no initiative,” said Khalil Shikaki, head of the Palestinian polling organization PCPSR. “His legitimacy was depleted long ago. He has become a liability to his own party, and for the Palestinians as a whole.”

Within the limited areas of the West Bank under PA control, Abbas’s administration has gained notoriety for corruption. The aging leader rarely leaves his headquarters in Ramallah except for international travel, and restricts decision-making to a small inner circle, including Hussein al-Sheikh, whom Abbas designated as his successor in April.

Public dissatisfaction with Abbas has reached new heights. An October poll by Shikaki’s organization found 80% of Palestinians want Abbas to resign, while only one-third support PA involvement in Gaza’s future governance.

Abbas’s presidency began with optimism when he succeeded Yasser Arafat twenty years ago. Many hoped the new leader could negotiate an independent Palestinian state. However, his authority suffered a severe blow in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took control of Gaza, cementing a territorial and political split that persists today.

The PA’s influence has been systematically undermined during Netanyahu’s tenure, which began in 2009. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who nearly reached a peace agreement with Abbas before leaving office, described Netanyahu’s approach as a deliberate strategy to weaken the PA and “prevent any genuine chance to come along with some compromise.”

Despite these challenges, Abbas has maintained security cooperation with Israel—a policy that has alienated many Palestinians who view the PA as complicit in the occupation. “It has chosen to put itself hand-in-hand with the Israeli occupation, even as Israel acts to make it more fragile and weaker,” said Abdaljawad Omar, an assistant professor at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank.

Israel has frequently withheld tax revenues it collects for the PA, citing stipends paid to families of Palestinians imprisoned or killed by Israel. The PA claims Israel is currently withholding approximately $3 billion, exacerbating the West Bank’s economic crisis.

Abbas’s supporters defend his “practical realism” approach, arguing that preventing violence has maintained Palestinian credibility on the international stage. Ghassan Khatib, a former Palestinian planning minister, notes that this strategy has secured official recognition of a Palestinian state from a growing number of countries. However, these diplomatic gains have failed to generate meaningful pressure on Israel to halt settlement expansion or pursue peace negotiations.

Critics contend that Abbas’s leadership style has stifled alternative voices and prevented effective resistance to occupation. “Politics has been removed as a way for young people to engage, to stand against occupation,” said Omar, highlighting how this vacuum has increased support for Hamas, which portrayed its October 2023 attack on Israel as an effort to end the occupation.

Recent U.S. proposals call for an international council to administer Gaza after Hamas’s removal, with the PA potentially assuming control if it implements unspecified reforms. Abbas has made symbolic gestures toward change, promising elections within a year after the Gaza war ends and announcing plans to develop a new constitution with French assistance.

However, Palestinians remain deeply skeptical. The PCPSR poll found 60% doubt Abbas will hold elections, and indicated that if a vote were held, imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti would be the clear favorite, with Abbas finishing a distant third behind any Hamas candidate.

As Abbas enters his tenth decade, the future of Palestinian leadership remains uncertain. Analysts suggest Israel will likely prevent PA governance in Gaza, as uniting the territories would strengthen demands for Palestinian statehood. As Khatib observed, “Israel is the party that is calling the shots on the ground.”