succeed

With a patient realpolitik, not to mention the tacit approval of Israel and the United States, Mahmoud Abbas is inching toward the Palestinian leadership.

A poll of West Bank and Gaza Strip residents released Sunday found that a plurality of Palestinians, 41 percent, support Abbas\’ bid to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority president — a coup, considering the dour, 69-year-old PLO veteran\’s single-digit showing in the polls until recently. The presidential election is scheduled Jan. 9.