"Abbas turned down a billion dollars to pledge not to go to ICC"

An unnamed Fatah leader was quoted in the Al Mayadeen channel as saying that international figures offered the PA a billion dollars - which would solve the financial crisis - if Mahmoud Abbas would vow not to go to the International Criminal Court to accuse Israeli leaders on war crimes.

The Fatah leader said that this "method of financial blackmail practiced by the world against the martyr Yasser Arafat is now being practiced against Mahmoud Abbas but will not sway the Palestinian people and their leadership.

The story is almost certainly bogus and deliberately planted to make Abbas sound like a strong leader. It seems very unlikely that any "international party" would throw a billion dollars at the PA for any reason, let alone to help Israel avoid a legal confrontation. Just think of the backlash against any Western government that does that!

More likely the story is being released to head off any protests by the PA workers who are not getting paid. This way any protesters would be painted as being anti-nationalist or even Zionist.

The comments at the Fatah-oriented Palestine Press Agency are overwhelmingly positive for Abbas' alleged decision.

(h/t Missing Peace)