EDITORIAL. Mahmoud Abbas, a Palestinian president whose legitimacy has been undermined who should take an example from Macky Sall

Monday evening, Macky Sall announced that he would not seek a third term at the head of Senegal. At the same time, the Constitution of his country limits the exercise of presidential power to two terms. But he considered for a time taking advantage of a legal loophole, before finally renouncing to represent himself after ten years in power. And maybe Mahmoud Abbas could learn a lot from Macky Sall. The Palestinian president has been in power for 18 years. Elected in 2005 for a four-year term, he extended his mandate in 2009 for an indefinite period. And since ? Nothing.

>> REPORT. ‘Everyone is a potential target’: Jenin population in shock after IDF special operation

However, this week, much has been said about this imposing military intervention by the Israeli army in Jenin in the occupied West Bank. Twelve Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed, and there was massive material damage in what Israel calls “an operation against the hub of terrorism”. But beyond the endless confrontation between Israel and armed groups like Islamic Jihad or Hamas, Jenin has become a powder keg because of the weakness of the Palestinian Authority. Officially, this authority governs the autonomous Palestinian sectors, including that of Jenin. It manages civilian life and should theoretically ensure security in the city.

No election since 2005

But Jenin, located in the very north of the West Bank, is an outlying city, far from the Palestinian political power based in Ramallah. It is a city of rebel tradition where the Palestinian Authority is very unpopular because corruption is important. Its leaders have lost all political capital. Mahmoud Abbas’s popularity rating is at its lowest there. The Palestinians, especially the younger ones, see him as a “collaborator” of Israel.

On Wednesday, during the funeral of the twelve dead of Jenin, the representatives of the Authority were chased away by the crowd. And without an election since 2005, the Palestinians have been unable to elect either their MPs or their President! Mahmoud Abbas is justified by the division between the West Bank and Gaza, governed by two different regimes. But at 88 he clings to power. Under this interminable reign, the occupation continued, colonization progressed, the idea of ​​a Palestinian State vanished, poverty and unemployment were not really reduced. The Palestinians are suffering a lot from the occupation but also from a failing Palestinian Authority… Mahmoud Abbas would have a lot to learn from Macky Sall…