Mahmoud Abbas spurns newly-built £6.4m ‘presidential palace’

A newly built 6 million dollar (£4.6 million) West Bank mansion meant to be Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s official residence and guesthouse will not be serving its original purpose, officials have said.

Instead, the 4,700 square metre “presidential palace” on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah will stand empty for now.

Mr Abbas, 82, decided to stay in his long-time Ramallah home, fearing a public backlash if he moved into the sprawling compound at a time of economic hardship among Palestinians, an official said.

Palestinian officials are trying to find a new purpose for the mansion and justify the expenditure by the cash-strapped Palestinian self-rule government, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Culture minister Ehab Bseiso said a national library is to be built in the grounds, but it will require additional funds.

In the future, some rooms in the mansion could be used by the library, he said. A heliport on the grounds could be used for outdoor book fairs.

The zig-zag on the presidential palace has drawn mixed reviews from ordinary Palestinians.

Tayseer Salaimeh, 50, who owns a nearby furniture store, said the mansion, under construction for five years, is a sign of public funds being squandered.

“They have been building the palace for years and now they don’t know what to do with it,” he said.

Yasser Salameh, 47, another shop owner, said the palace symbolises national pride. “We are building a state and it’s good to have a nice place for our guests,” he said.

Mr Abbas has served as president since 2005, overstaying his original term by seven years, in part because a bitter rivalry with the Islamic militant group Hamas has prevented new elections.

The president, who has ruled by decree for the past decade, is widely seen as aloof. Critics say he has been restricting freedoms in the areas under his rule, including freedom of expression.