Mahmoud Abbas, the “president” (his term expired and elections have been postponed) of the Palestinian Authority, is facing a great credibility and popularity drop. For months, the conditions on the ground were favoring him and his Fatah party over the Islamist rivals of Hamas, whom exclusively govern the blockaded (with Fatah indifference if not support) Gaza Stripe.

Although illegal Israeli settlements have not ceased, the continued “Judaization” of Arab East Jerusalem is escalating as Israel seeks to ethnically cleanse all Arabs, both Muslim and Christian, from the city, and illegal Israeli settlers are still committing violent crimes against Palestinians with impunity; in some areas there are improvements for West Bank Palestinians. Israel has removed several checkpoints, easing intra-travel and leading to a GDP growth. It’s all relative, but West Bank standard-of-life was improving for the first time in nearly a decade.

But then came Gaza, once again, and the Goldstone report. Abbas turned a blind eye to the Israeli massacre in Gaza and most likely supported it. Fatah probably provided Israel intelligence in an effort to overthrow their rival Hamas.

This is a party that is also rife with corruption. Mahmoud Abbas has stolen millions in Palestinian aid money, and his son was also benefited. Mohammad Dahlan, his right-hand, was a fortune of $120 million even though he never operated a business or comes from wealth. Pure theft.

But corruption is one thing, and it is one thing to be indifferent to the suffering of one’s people for pure and cynical political calculation in an effort to undermine your rivals.

Abbas recently crossed the final line. The Palestinian representative at the United Nations Human Rights Council recently withheld Palestinian endorsement of a credible report on Gaza accusing Israel (and Hamas) of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report would have won the vote of endorsement at UNHRC, but the puppet Palestinian Authority under Israeli and American pressure decided not to press ahead. Israeli blackmailed the Palestinians by making it clear that Israeli granting of a second mobile network for the Palestinians in the West Bank was dependent on the PA refusing to press the UN report at UNHRC. Guess who is to benefit from such a mobile network? Abbas’ son: Yasir Abbas.

The Arab and Palestinian people have put up with a lot when it comes to the collaboration of Fatah with the military Israeli occupation. They image of Fatah now taking orders from Israel to not endorse a report that stated that Israel deliberately killed Palestinians was the final straw.

Protests have erupted in occupied Palestine, Syria uninvited Abbas to Damascus and even Israel is worried that its puppet is in trouble with his people. They have finally realized that they may have pushed him too far. Israeli diplomats, who have been trying to discredit the report with baseless Talking Points, have been instructed by the foreign ministry to stop discussing it. The Arab media is outraged. The U.S. media is oblivious, but yesterday on the Arab news channels it looked like a Third Intifidah was about to start (partly due to Israeli occupation troops desecrating Muslim holy sites).

Abbas is in trouble. Even if he survives this episode, he belongs - as the Hamas protester says - “To the waste dump of history, ‘o traitor Mahmud Abbas.”

But his survival, judging from recent news stories, is in great jeopardy and after losing one election to Hamas, Fatah may lose once more:

“Anger among Palestinians over President Mahmoud Abbas’s original position on a Gaza war report critical of Israel has cost him public support in a rivalry with Hamas, a poll showed on Sunday.”

“A SURGE in support for the militant Hamas organisation has prompted fears in Israel and the West that Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate Palestinian president, may be defeated in his West Bank stronghold in elections next year.”

“Mahmoud Abbas might as well be considered a dead man; Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak have killed him. Following a brief and angry meeting, they left a cyanide pill for him on the table and exited the room. He still managed to make two or three trans-Atlantic telephone calls and in a moment of despair swallowed the Goldstone report, which he is now trying to regurgitate in Geneva.”

Abbas is in damage control mood. The Palestinian Authority has sent a representative to the United Nations to stand alongside Libyan demands for a Security Council review of the Goldstone report (the U.S. will predictable veto any such effort) and Abbas has issues some strong language against Israel. The Jewish state and the United States are trying to prop him up, and Israel is even pretending to be offended by his language in an effort to give Abbas “street cred”. The Palestinians see through the humorless facade, and it is going to take some drastic action that improves the lot of Palestinians for Abbas to remain standing for much longer. Hamas will probably come to the rescue in some “unity government.” But Abbas may not lead it.

The Palestinians deserve better.