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| Palestinian leader 'to step down' | Palestinian leader 'to step down' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not seek re-election in polls next year, reports suggest. | Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not seek re-election in polls next year, reports suggest. |
| Officials from the Palestine Liberation Organisation told journalists in the West Bank that Mr Abbas "insists on not running" in the 24 January election. | Officials from the Palestine Liberation Organisation told journalists in the West Bank that Mr Abbas "insists on not running" in the 24 January election. |
| A aide to Mr Abbas said earlier a lack of progress in peace talks with Israel and failure to achieve reconciliation with Hamas could prompt such a move. | A aide to Mr Abbas said earlier a lack of progress in peace talks with Israel and failure to achieve reconciliation with Hamas could prompt such a move. |
| But another aide said PLO officials were trying to change Mr Abbas' mind. | But another aide said PLO officials were trying to change Mr Abbas' mind. |
| Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior adviser to Mr Abbas, told AFP news agency that the Palestine Liberation Organisation's executive committee had rejected his decision and said it would still support him in the election. | |
| MAHMOUD ABBAS Born in Safed in British Mandate Palestine (now northern Israel) in 1935; studied law in Egypt and gained doctorate in MoscowA founder member, with Yasser Arafat, of Palestinian political faction FatahHeld security role within the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the early 1970sAppointed head of the PLO's department for national and international relations in 1980Widely regarded as an architect of the 1993 Oslo Peace AccordsIn January 2005, elected president of the Palestinian Authority | |
| Mr Abbas took over after Yasser Arafat died in 2004 and became Palestinian Authority president a year later. | Mr Abbas took over after Yasser Arafat died in 2004 and became Palestinian Authority president a year later. |
| But he has struggled to make headway towards a peace deal in negotiations with Israel, amid deadlock over the issue of Israeli settlements. | But he has struggled to make headway towards a peace deal in negotiations with Israel, amid deadlock over the issue of Israeli settlements. |
| He has also faced rivalry from the Hamas movement, which won legislative elections in January 2006 and controls Gaza. | He has also faced rivalry from the Hamas movement, which won legislative elections in January 2006 and controls Gaza. |
| Officials say they expect him to make a formal announcement later in the day. | Officials say they expect him to make a formal announcement later in the day. |
| In recent months Egypt has tried to broker a unity deal between Hamas and Fatah but its efforts have been unsuccessful so far. | |
| Mr Abbas had said he would call elections even if no unity deal was reached. | |
| The four-year term of the Palestinian Legislative Council, or parliament, is due to expire in January 2010, at which time fresh elections must be held, according to the Palestinian constitution. | |
| Mr Abbas' presidential term expired early this year. |