Is Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas channeling his inner Richard Nixon?

According to the Palestine Now news agency, documents show that Abbas ordered the monitoring of phone conversations of some of the more prominent political figures in the West Bank.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Former US President Richard Nixon (L) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (photo credit: REUTERS)
Former US President Richard Nixon (L) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ordered his attorney general to bug the phones of his political rivals within Fatah, according to a bombshell report posted on Saturday by a Hamas-affiliated website.
According to the Palestine Now news agency, documents show that Abbas ordered the monitoring of phone conversations of some of the more prominent political figures in the West Bank, including chief peace negotiator Saeb Erekat; PLO bigwig Yasser Abed Rabbo; Jibril Rajoub, the former head of the Preventive Security Service; and Tawfiq Tirawi, the commander of the Palestinian intelligence apparatus.
The website posted copies of the document which bears the official letterhead of Abbas’ office and is signed by Maj. Gen. Ismail Shehadeh, a top-ranking member of the PA chairman’s personal security force.