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Mahmoud Abbas

Demonstrators hold placards bearing portraits of Palestinians detained by Israel during a solidarity protest in Ramallah on April 7, 2026. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)
June 11, 2026, 4:14 am
External audit finds PA no longer rewarding security prisoners — diplomats
Western officials tell ToI that global consulting firm’s initial review shows Ramallah reformed welfare program to be needs-based instead of based on time served, contradicting US report
By Jacob Magid
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, right, meets with Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestinian Football Association, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on June 7, 2018. (Thaer Ganaim/APA Images/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News)
June 7, 2026, 2:36 am
In rare critique, senior PA official says Abbas’s exclusion of political rivals is mistaken
Jibril Rajoub tells ToI that those backing exiled ex-security chief Dahlan shouldn’t be forced to sign ‘humiliating’ individual amnesty requests, as demanded by ruling Fatah party
By Jacob Magid
Zakaria Zubeidi, a former commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, poses with a supporter in Ramallah on May 18, 2026, as initial results emerged from the Palestinian movement's first congress in a decade. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
June 1, 2026, 8:05 am
In shift, Fatah opens leadership vote to terror convicts freed in hostage deals
May conference confirms influence of hundreds released in deals for Gaza hostages — including many who were serving life sentences for deadly attacks — allowing them to cast ballots and win seats on bodies that guide the PA
By Nurit Yohanan
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's Daily Briefing. (ToI)
May 19, 2026, 1:25 pm
Daily Briefing May 19: Trump frustrated as Iran talks stall, Gulf wary of renewed war
US bureau chief Jacob Magid discusses details of Iran negotiations, an emboldened Hamas in Gaza and initial results from Fatah central committee elections
By Jessica Steinberg and Jacob Magid
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (2nd L) chairs the eighth Fatah conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 14, 2026. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
May 16, 2026, 1:34 am
Backers of Abbas rival excluded from Fatah confab, despite Egypt’s push for inclusivity
After PA president gave non-committal response to visiting Egyptian official, members of Dahlan-led faction left out of major gathering where elections held for party’s top panels
By Jacob Magid and Nurit Yohanan
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (2nd L) chairs the eighth Fatah conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 14, 2026. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
May 14, 2026, 6:31 pm
Fatah gathers for first election in decade, as PA’s Abbas pledges to continue reforms
3-day confab climaxes with vote for 18-member committee expected to play key role in post-Abbas era; PA president pans Israeli withholding of Ramallah’s funds
By AFP, Nurit Yohanan and Jacob Magid
US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg in today's Daily Briefing podcast. (ToI)
May 12, 2026, 2:16 pm
Daily Briefing May 12: Extremist settlers dealt a blow with EU sanctions
US bureau chief Jacob Magid reports on Trump’s Iran comments, the EU decision, a new Gaza police force, Mahmoud Abbas’s son and Israel’s US envoy’s kerfuffle with some Jewish organizations
By Jessica Steinberg and Jacob Magid
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, flanked by his two sons Yasser (L) and Tarek (R), gives a short statement before leaving a hospital near Ramallah in the West Bank on May 28, 2018. (ABBAS MOMANI / AFP)
May 10, 2026, 7:18 pm
Abbas seen positioning son for Palestinian leadership, dismaying those seeking new blood
Recent meetings between businessman Yasser Abbas and top PA officials, along with upcoming Fatah vote, stir angry speculation that president wants to keep power in his family
By Nurit Yohanan and Reuters
US President Donald Trump (left) greets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a summit on Gaza in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025. (Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)
April 30, 2026, 5:02 am
US says PA continuing to pay security prisoners despite reformed welfare criteria
Citing information from Israeli government and groups critical of the Palestinian Authority, State Department informs Congress that Ramallah not meeting benchmarks for lifting sanctions
By Jacob Magid
Palestinians vote during local elections, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on April 25, 2026. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)
April 27, 2026, 1:39 am
PA leader Abbas’s loyalists win local elections, including in Gaza’s Deir al‑Balah
First election of any kind in Strip in over 2 decades is cast by Ramallah as a success and ‘another step on the path to full independence’
By Agencies and Nurit Yohanan
Palestinian Christians cast their votes in local elections at a polling station in Bethlehem, West Bank, April 25, 2026. (AP/Mahmoud Illean)
April 25, 2026, 11:05 pm
Turnout low as Palestinians in West Bank and part of Gaza vote in local elections
Only 21.2% of registered voters cast ballots in Strip’s Deir el-Balah area, with first vote there since 2006 seen largely as a test for possible future polls
By AFP and ToI Staff
A Palestinian candidate (L) and a voter cast their ballots in a makeshift polling station during municipal elections in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, on April 25, 2026 (Eyad Baba / AFP)
April 25, 2026, 9:26 am
PA holds local elections, including first in parts of Gaza since 2007 Hamas takeover
Election is one of the reforms demanded in Trump’s Gaza peace plan, but no faction other than Abbas’s Fatah has put forward a party slate; vote in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah largely symbolic
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron (not in picture) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, November 11, 2025. (Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP)
March 31, 2026, 1:30 pm
PA, rights groups denounce death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of deadly terror
Palestinian Authority President Abbas says legislation violates international and humanitarian law; Hamas threatens attacks to retaliate for law’s passage
By ToI Staff, Agencies and Jacob Magid
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, December 22, 2025. (AP/ Nasser Nasser, Pool)
February 14, 2026, 4:51 pm
Abbas accuses Israel of putting up ‘obstacles’ blocking phase 2 of Gaza ceasefire
Palestinian Authority leader hits out at Jerusalem for ‘continuing to violate’ truce with Hamas, which is refusing to disarm as stipulated by US-backed ceasefire deal
By AFP and ToI Staff
This handout picture released by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) shows, (L-R) Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassim al-Budaiwi, Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah, Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Oman's Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs Shihab bin Tarik Al Said, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Bahrain's King's Personal Representative Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and the UAE's Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, posing for a group picture during the 2025 Arab-Islamic emergency summit in Doha on September 15, 2025. (Saudi Press Agency / AFP)
February 9, 2026, 6:32 pm
Muslim countries, EU join condemnations of Israeli moves deepening West Bank control
Muslim states, including allies and adversaries, call security cabinet decision illegal and a ‘dangerous escalation’; EU: It’s a ‘step in the wrong direction’
By Nava Freiberg, Leon Kraiem, Noam Lehmann, ToI Staff and AFP
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