Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas Saturday named his old friend and loyal aide, Hussein al-Sheikh, vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a long-anticipated shift viewed as progress toward naming a successor.
At 89, Abbas has headed both the PLO and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since Yasser Arafat’s death in 2004, frequently pushing back against reform and succession calls. Although al-Sheikh’s appointment is no guarantee he will be the next Palestinian leader, it places him as one of the senior Fatah figures with the best shot at succeeding Abbas.
The move comes as Western and Arab allies increasingly urge Abbas to revamp the PA, which holds sway over fragments of the West Bank under Israeli occupation. Last week, Fatah agreed to establish the position of vice president of the PLO, with the vice president taking over if the president is incapacitated or dies. The executive committee of the PLO would need to formally agree on a permanent replacement.
Al-Sheikh, 64, has been a key figure in Palestinian politics for decades, most recently serving as secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee. A former security officer and Palestinian prisoner within Israeli prisons, he wields substantial influence, most notably by his position coordinating with Israel on critical permits and diplomacy.
Even with his close affiliations with Abbas and regional partners, al-Sheikh is unpopular among Palestinians, who overwhelmingly consider Fatah leadership to be corrupt and out of touch. His selection by the PLO’s geriatric leadership, without consulting the people, may isolate the population even more.
Meanwhile, Marwan Barghouti, the most widely acclaimed Palestinian leader, is still imprisoned in Israel with no hope of release. While the Gaza war rages on and tensions rise in the region, al-Sheikh comes under increasing pressure to consolidate the divided Palestinian leadership against outside attacks.
In his earlier interviews, al-Sheikh justified his contentious coordination with Israel as an unavoidable step on the way towards a political settlement.
