Abbas just declared himself President for Life

Remember last October when Mahmoud Abbas made a big deal over saying he will not run in the next set of Palestinian Authority elections?

Even though people worldwide panicked over his threat, others noticed that it was nothing more than a sympathy ploy and that he was going to be president for a long, long time.

Now, he's quietly made it official.

Abbas just rescinded his October call for "early elections" (according to the PA Basic Law, the elections should have been held by this week) and instead he plans to sign a new decree this week that postpones new elections until there is a consensus about when and how they should be held.

And that in the meantime, Abbas remains president. Given how the negotiations of unity between Hamas and Fatah have dragged on, chances are that he will be president for a long, long time.