P R Kumaraswamy ByIn early November, Moscow hosted Mohammed Dahlan, a former right-hand man of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who turned a rebel. With Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas slated to visit Moscow later this month, Russia could be opening another diplomatic front. Dahlan, a grassroots Palestinian leader in the Gaza Strip, headed one of the several security outfits under Arafat in the wake of the Oslo accords. The loss of administrative control of the Gaza Strip was followed by growing marginalisation of the Palestinian question in inter-Arab affairs. But irrespective of the outcomes, Dahlan’s Moscow visit indicates that some external players are preparing themselves for the post-Abbas Palestinian leadership.

Source: Indian Express November 22, 2021 14:24 UTC