Brave stand for Palestinian democracy or clever move to set up Israel for the Hamas parliamentary majority that's about to formally take over the PA? Neither. Just the logical extension of his perennial efforts to bring Fatah and Hamas together under one glorious Israel-hating umbrella:

Palestinian Authority Preisdent Mahmoud Abbas said Monday he was not intending to step down from office when his term ends in January 2009, hinting also that he would run again for PA president in 2010... Earlier, Abbas said Cairo sent all Palestinian factions the draft of an agreement expected to constitute the basis of a dialogue scheduled for November 9. The draft contains several articles, among which is the establishment of a national unity government until the parliamentary elections are due and also embedding Hamas within the PLO and reorganizing the Palestinian security network.

See? And you thought that all that US training and weaponry would go to waste. Also:

Speaking to reporters in Ramallah, Abbas said that throughout the negotiations with Israel he made clear that he was not willing to accept partial or temporary solutions and would not postpone ironing out certain issues. "Even though there are twelve committees discussing various outstanding issues, we have not reached agreement on any of them," Abbas said. He added that next week, on October 27, he will be holding his last meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Which constitutes progress from two months ago, when there was also no agreement on any issue. Oh well. At least Rice will have something to do when she drops in for the ninth time this year. Because those other eight times were apparently so successful.

References:
* Abbas hints he might not leave office when his term ends [JPost]
* Israel About To Free All Prisoners On Hamas Prisoner List? (Plus: No, This Isn't Why Hamas Is Going To Take Over The West Bank) [MR]
* Abbas Working Overtime To Reconcile With Hamas, Coordinate With Syria [MR]
* State Dept. More Enthusiastic Than Ever About Coercing Israeli Concessions, Arming Palestinian Soldiers (Plus: Editor-in-Chief Of Int'l Arabic Daily: Gaza Is Another Afghanistan) [MR]
* Palestinian Negotiator: "Not A Single Word" On Paper, No Agreement On Any Issue [MR]

Previously:
* Olmert Settlement Position Triggers Palestinian Blah Blah Blah
* Palestinian Declarations Of Peace A Little Exaggerated
* Saudi Arabia: Hey, Remember Our "Peace Plan" Where Israel Gets Overrun And Destroyed? How About It?