Abbas, Mahmoud << ah BAHS, mah MOOD >> (1935-…), also known as Abu Mazen, is the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA). His first name is sometimes spelled Mahmud. The PLO is a political body that represents the Palestinian people. The goal of the PLO is to establish an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territories fully or partly occupied by Israel since 1967. Israel, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank make up the historic region of Palestine in southwest Asia. The PA exercises limited control over parts of the West Bank.
Abbas is chairman of the PLO Executive Committee, the organization’s highest executive body. He assumed the chairmanship in November 2004, following the death of Yasir Arafat, who had served as chairman since 1969. Before becoming chairman, Abbas served as secretary-general of the Executive Committee.
In January 2005, Abbas was elected president of the PA by a wide margin. He replaced Arafat, who had served as PA president from 1996 until his death in 2004.
Abbas is widely regarded as a moderate politician. He is known for his efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. In 1993, Abbas was part of a Palestinian delegation that held secret talks with Israeli officials in Oslo, Norway. These talks led to the signing of a peace agreement in September 1993, the first of a number of agreements in what has become known as the Oslo peace process. This process continued through the 1990’s. But several key issues have not yet been resolved, and since 2000, violence between Israelis and Palestinians has interrupted the peace process.
Abbas was born in Zefat (also called Safad or Safed) in an area of Palestine that is now northern Israel. During the war that occurred after the state of Israel was established in 1948, Abbas sought refuge in Syria with his family. He became involved with the Palestinian independence movement in the 1950’s. During that time, Abbas and Arafat helped found Fatah, a Palestinian guerrilla group that is now part of the PLO. In 1958, Abbas earned a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Damascus in Syria. In 1980, he became head of the PLO’s national and international relations department. In 1982, he earned a doctor’s degree in history from the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow.
In 1995, Abbas returned to live in Palestine for the first time since he went into exile in 1948. He became secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee in 1996. From April to September 2003, Abbas served as the first prime minister of the PA. Arafat had allowed the post of prime minister to be created earlier that year in response to international pressure to give up some of his power.
See also Arab-Israeli conflict; Arafat, Yasir; Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO); Palestinian Authority.
