Abbas "pushed" to stand down - press

Palestinian Fatah supporters wave the party's flag and hold a picture of Mahmud Abbas Some Fatah supporters in Ramallah protested against Abbas' decision

Israeli and Arab commentators consider the reasons behind Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' decision not to stand in forthcoming elections, with many saying his position was made untenable this week after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to the region.

Newspapers from Israel and the Palestinian territories agree that the apparent softening of US rhetoric on the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank left Mr Abbas with no choice but to stand down. One Israeli paper argues that he was also a victim of his own inflexibility on the issue.

A UK-based Arabic newspaper questions the sincerity of Mr Abbas' decision, suggesting that it may be a move to force America back to its previous position on the settlements.

ADLI SADIQ IN PALESTINIAN AL-HAYAT AL-JADIDAH

There is no interpretation for what President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday other than the fact that the occupiers and their allies have pushed the man - who chose peace as the way to achieve independence and freedom - to a point where he sees no benefits... Consequently, the occupiers, together with the Americans who support them, bear the responsibility for the collapse of the peace process.

SAMIR JABBUR IN PALESTINIAN FILASTIN

Clinton's position belittled the Palestinian mindset and its people. This position was the straw that broke the camel's back. The Palestinian Authority... waived Palestinian rights... at the expense of Palestinian interests just to satisfy the Americans and Israelis.

BEN KASPIT IN ISRAEL'S MA'ARIV

The straw that broke the back of Abu Mazen [Abbas] was placed on him by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In her snap visit to the region last week she stood by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Then she tried to correct this but it was too little, too late and too transparent. Abu Mazen understood that the rope the Americans threw him was a noose… He who scorns Abu Mazen today will miss him tomorrow…

ZVI BAREL IN ISRAEL'S HA'ARETZ

The Palestinian president misread the diplomatic map in believing that the Americans would stick to their initial firm demands for a construction freeze. Abbas has portrayed himself as the only Palestinian partner for peace. He threw down the gauntlet to that effect on the White House lawn, but he could find himself paving the way for the opponents of peace while his gauntlet lies abandoned in Obama's front yard.

UK-BASED PAN-ARAB AL-QUDS AL-ARABI

The decision by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas not to seek re-election in the upcoming January elections has caused confusion at both Palestinian and international levels... But this is not the first time that his allies have spoken of his determination to resign from his position or to not seek-re-election. Therefore, it is difficult to judge whether Abbas is serious or is simply trying to pressurise the US Administration to return to its previous position over the settlements.

BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

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