PLO officials: Fatah does not have a realistic candidate

          Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has told the members of the Fatah Central Committee that he does not intend to run for another term in the next Palestinian elections, Israel Radio reported Thursday morning, quoting Reuters. An official from the PLO executive committee told the Reuters news agency, "The president insists on not running in the upcoming election." A top Fatah official who was present at the meeting was quoted as saying that Abbas was disappointed with the position of the United States regarding its failure to insist on a freeze in Israeli settlement construction. Another Fatah source said that Abbas was "broken," but clarified that, as of now, Fatah does not have a realistic candidate to replace him. Officials close to Abbas said Wednesday that there was no diplomatic horizon at this point. They warned that if the two-state solution were not pushed forward, the Palestinians would work for a solution based on a bi-national state. One PLO official said Abbas would give a speech later on Thursday explaining his decision not to run.(16,43)