Editing Mahmoud Abbas (section)

===Prime minister===
[[File:sharon bush abbas.jpg |thumb|left| Abbas with [[Ariel Sharon]] and [[George W. Bush]] in [[Aqaba]], [[Jordan]], 4 June 2003. ]]
By early 2003, as Israel and the United States refused to negotiate with Yasser Arafat, it was thought that Abbas would be a candidate for the kind of leadership role envisaged by both countries. As one of the few remaining founding members of Fatah, he had some degree of credibility within the Palestinian cause, and his candidacy was bolstered by the fact that other high-profile Palestinians were for various reasons not suitable (the most notable, [[Marwan Barghouti]], was a prisoner in Israeli jail after having been convicted on charges of being responsible for multiple murders by an Israeli court). Abbas's reputation as a pragmatist garnered him favor with the West and some members of the Palestinian legislature. Under international pressure, on 19 March 2003, Arafat appointed Abbas [[Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority]]. According to [[Gilbert Achcar]], the United States imposed Abbas on Arafat, the democratically elected leader, though the majority of Palestinians thought of Abbas as a [[Quisling]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FNIchn0jJMC&pg=PA44 |title=Eastern Cauldron: Islam, Afghanistan and Palestine in the Mirror of Marxism |last=Achcar |first=Gilbert |author-link=Gilbert Achcar |date=2004 |location=London, UK |publisher=[[Pluto Press]] |isbn=978-0-7453-2203-2 |page=44}}</ref>

A struggle for power between Arafat and Abbas ensued.<ref name=alhram_647>{{cite news |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/647/re2.htmnegotiat |title=Arafat vs Abbas |date=23 July 2003 |issue=647 |newspaper=[[Al-Ahram Weekly]]}} {{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Abbas's term as prime minister was characterised by numerous conflicts between him and Arafat over the distribution of power. The United States and Israel accused Arafat of undermining Abbas and his government. Abbas hinted he would resign if not given more control over the administration. In early September 2003, he confronted the Palestinian parliament over this issue.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

Abbas came into conflict with [[Palestinian political violence|Palestinian militant groups]], notably the [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement]] and [[Hamas]] because his pragmatic policies were opposed to their hard-line approach. Initially, he pledged not to use force against the militants in the interest of avoiding a civil war, and attempted negotiation. This was partially successful, resulting in a pledge from the two groups to honor a unilateral Palestinian cease-fire. However, continuing violence and Israeli [[Targeted killings by Israel Defense Forces|"targeted killings"]] of known leaders forced Abbas to pledge a crackdown in order to uphold the Palestinian Authority's side of the [[Road map for peace]]. This led to a power struggle with Arafat over control of the [[Palestinian Security Services]]; Arafat refused to release control to Abbas, thus preventing him from using them on the militants. Abbas resigned as prime minister on 6 September 2003, citing lack of support from Israel and the United States as well as "internal incitement" against his government.<ref name=ap_060903>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/06/israel1 |title=Profile: Mahmoud Abbas |first=Dan |last=Perry |date=6 September 2003 |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref><ref name=CNN_060903>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/06/mideast/ |title=Palestinian prime minister Abbas resigns |date=6 September 2003 |website=[[CNN]] |access-date=26 January 2020}}</ref>