End of the line for Yemen's Saleh?

SANAA, Yemen, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Opposition sources in Yemen said they were cautiously optimistic that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh would sign a proposal to step down.

Saleh spent much of the summer in a military hospital in Saudi Arabia recovering from wounds suffered during an assassination attempt in June. He's endured pressure to stand down for much of the year.

He's said several times that he would sign a political transition deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council. An opposition figure told Gulf News that Saleh could be signing a deal at any time.

"Saleh could sign the deal within the next hours or tomorrow," the source told news agency on condition of anonymity. "But we cannot say for sure that we would sign because he has changed his mind many times."

Saleh under the terms of a modified GCC proposal would hand over authority to his deputy will retaining a largely symbolic role in the country. He would leave the political scene within 90 days of the signing, provided a new president is elected.

"The opposition was reluctant to accept him to stay in power even without power, because it was against the wishes of the camping protesters," the same source said.

The independent Yemen Post reported, however, Saleh during meetings with his top generals never mentioned the GCC and only mentioned the opposition in passing.