Hamas lashes out at Abbas. Palestinian elections in doubt

But recent events have also left many Palestinian's questioning Abbas' own leadership. After a UN commission led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone found that both Hamas and Israel had likely committed war crimes during that conflict, Abbas worked with the US to prevent a UN vote on accepting Goldstone's findings, something Abbas drew fire for from all segments of Palestinian society. He eventually changed course after the political damage was done.

And the Palestinian president's greater willingness to work with Israel towards peace has also been hurting him of late -- since the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to expand settlements in the West Bank. Both President Obama and Abbas had pushed Israel on a settlement freeze earlier this year as an important good will gesture. The Obama administration has since backed down from this demand, leaving Abbas feeling isolated.

Israel's Channel 10 reported this week that Abbas -- often referred to by his nickname Abu Mazen -- recently told Obama in a telephone conversation that he sees no chance for peace as long as Prime Minister Netanyahu is in power and that he intends to resign the presidency. He also complained about Washington's "capitulation" to Israel on the settlement issue.

Marc Lynch, a political scientist and director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University, writes on his blog that Abbas is unlikely to back up his threat to quit.

"It isn't likely that the threat will be taken especially seriously -- he's made such threats before without following through," he writes. "He's most likely trying to recoup some domestic standing and to put some pressure on Netanyahu."

"But what if he were serious, as some well-connected Palestinians have suggested to me yesterday and today?... First, it would shake up the comfortable status quo of what passes for the peace process... the talks about talks, the political discussions which go on in near total isolation from facts on the ground, and the untenable assumptions which allow everyone to pretend that things are moving forward. If Abu Mazen really did quit, it would suggest that there are real political costs to the current approach and might force a rethink both in Washington and in Tel Aviv. Palestinian domestic politics tend to be sorely neglected in the analysis and execution of Middle East policy, with predictably bad results (i.e. the Goldstone fiasco)."

Israeli-Palestinian tension is mounting around the Old City in Jerusalem.

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