Palestinian leader Abbas turns 90, weakened by Israel, deeply unpopular

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas turns 90 on Saturday, still holding authoritarian power in tiny pockets of the West Bank, but marginalised and weakened by Israel, deeply unpopular among Palestinians, and struggling for a say in a postwar Gaza Strip.

The world's second-oldest serving president — after Cameroon's 92-year-old



Paul Biya — Abbas has been in office for 20 years, and for nearly the entire time has failed to hold elections. 

His weakness has left Palestinians leaderless, critics say, at a time when they face an existential crisis and hopes for establishing a Palestinian state, the centrepiece of Abbas' agenda, appear dimmer than ever.