Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is a highly controversial person. On the one hand, his struggle for freedom and independence of his native country arouses genuine respect. On the other hand, some of his methods of conducting political battles clearly go beyond what is permitted. But let's talk about everything in order.
Abbas Mahmoud: A Brief Biography
The future Palestinian leader was born March 26, 1935 in the city of Safed, today it is the northern part of Israel. When Mahmoud was 13 years old, the Arab-Israeli war broke out. Therefore, in 1948, the family was forced to leave their home and move to Syria.
Abbas Mahmoud received his higher education at Damascus University, graduating from the Faculty of Law. A little later he moved to Moscow, where he entered the Institute of Oriental Studies. In 1983, he defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic "The Secret Connection between Nazism and Zionism." It should be noted that the lines from this work will repeatedly become the cause of scandals and reproaches on the part of people accusing Mahmoud of denying the Holocaust.
Upon arrival at home, he became an ardent public figure protecting the rights of the Palestinians. Moreover, Abbas Mahmoud is one of the founding fathers of the Palestine National Liberation Movement (Fatah). Subsequently, their grouping became the heart of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which coordinated the actions of all Palestinians who wanted to free themselves from Israeli influence.
Political career
In early 1980, Abbas Mahmoud was elected to the PLO Executive Committee. Thanks to his strong beliefs and keen mind, he is quickly moving up the career ladder.
In the 90s, he was engaged in the settlement of Israeli-Palestinian relations. In 1993, he, together with Yasser Arafat, visited Washington, where they together signed the Declaration of Principles.
In 1996, Mahmoud Abbas took over the duties of the PLO Secretary General. Thanks to this position, he becomes the second in the list in the hierarchy of the organization, yielding in his authority only to the head of the organization - Yasir Arafat.
After the death of the latter at the end of 2004, M. Abbas becomes the leader of the Palestinian Authority. True, according to official figures, he took this post only in January 2005. And on November 23, 2008, the PLO Council elects him as the new President of the PNA.
His most significant contribution to the development of independence was the renaming of the PNA in the state of Palestine on January 5, 2013. At the same time, Abbas changed not only the name of the country, but also introduced a number of bills that affirm the new symbolism, flag, coat of arms and anthem.
