Abbas ensures he'll be president for life

Remember all those panicky headlines that said that Mahmoud Abbas would resign over his displeasure with the "peace process" that he personally stopped? Remember how the world freaked out, begging him to stay?

Well, it turns out that people misunderstood him. When he said he was considering resigning, he really meant that he was staying on in his multiple jobs (chairman and president of the PLO, leader of Fatah, president of the PA) until he drops dead:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday he plans to stay on his post until the next election is held, but repeated he will not run for reelection.

"At any time we have the election I will go away and will not run," Abbas told reporters in the Chilean capital Santiago.

Palestinian authorities have said the election, which has been scheduled for Jan. 24, had been postponed.

Elections cannot be held unless Hamas approves. Hamas won't approve until it is certain it would win or if it changes PA policy to support Hamas' positions. Therefore, no new elections - and Abbas stays on forever.

Very few people publicly mentioned this scenario, although some did, during his dramatic theater designed to gain sympathy, take pressure off himself and boost his incredibly tiny ego.