Dubai: Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Fatah leader, looks set to become the next president of the Palestinian National Authority after incumbent Mahmoud Abbas, who turned 75, reaffirmed that he would not be seeking re-election.
Barghouti is currently serving five life terms in Israel.
Hamas leaders and political commentators welcomed Abbas' decision not to run for top office.
They feel that Palestinians, at this stage of their struggle against the Israeli occupation, need a leader like Barghouti who they feel will reunify them as opposed to Abbas whose tenure was marred by serious differences that threatened to split Palestinians into two entities — one in Gaza and the other in the West Bank.
Abbas told the Palestinian daily Al Ayam that he will not seek another term and would like to retire.
He said there are a variety of reasons, including his age, that prompted him to take such a decision seven months ago.
Abbas said he saw no reason to change his mind despite many Palestinians, Arab and western leaders wanting him to stay on.
In an emotional line, Abbas told the paper that he feels like visiting Gaza each day. He, however, said he fears that such a move might not help reconciliation efforts being brokered by Egypt.
"The thought of visiting Gaza occurs to me 100 times a day," Abbas was quoted as saying in the Al Ayam interview.
Barghouti, who was jailed by the Israeli army in Ramallah in 2002 over his role as the leader of the first and the second Palestinian uprising (intifada), is seen as a unifying factor for Palestinian groups.
Palestinian sources believe that the Fatah leader might be released in any future exchange of prisoners between Hamas and Israel.
In a telephone interview, Abdullah Abu Hashish, political analyst and editor of Sara News Service, told Gulf News he sees Abbas' announcement as a positive step at this stage.
"It will help Hamas and Fatah to reconcile," Abu Hashish said.
He said many in Gaza and the West Bank see Abbas as Palestine's beloved leader who emulated Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian icon.
"They believe that Abbas was let down by all parties including the Israelis, the United States and the European Union and he would not be able to achieve [anything] more for Palestinians," he said.
Abu Hashish said Abbas' proposal to visit Gaza, where he has not been to since Hamas took over in July 2007, was more emotional than realistic because he would not be able to carry out such a visit without a clear-cut reconciliation plan between Hamas and Fatah.
Ramadan Al Ashi, another political commentator based in Gaza, said the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas seemed closer than any time before and appeared to have spread some optimism among Palestinians, including Abbas.
"Abbas seems to be willing to end his political career to reunify Palestinians, under whose leadership they split into into two groups, regardless of the reasons that led to such division," Al Ashi said.
Barghouti, or any other candidate who might run for the top post, will be judged by the electorate based on his contributions to the national cause and his ability to achieve the goals of liberation and build a new state.
"As [long] as the candidate fulfils the legislative requirements, there would be no barriers to run for presidency," he said.
"I think [the] people are willing to see someone in power who can command [the] respect and cooperation our nation needs, from inside the country and from abroad, in order to build a state and the nation," he said.
"Barghouti is definitely one of the strong candidates for the post, but he is... not the only one."
