Fatah veterans who spent more than a decade in Israeli prisons in the 1970s and 1980s are considered the successors of Mahmoud Abbas.
Fatah veteran Hussein al-Sheikh has been appointed vice-chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
This will bring him in line to take over the 89-year-old leader of both Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The appointment of Al Sheikh follows years of international pressure to reform the PLO as Arab and Western actors envision the expanded role of PAs in postwar governance in the Gaza Strip.
The vice president was created during the 32nd session of the Central Council of Palestine, held in Ramala earlier this week, and the appointment of Al Sheikh was officially approved on Saturday.
Al Sheikh’s career
64-year-old Al-Sheikh is a veteran leader of the Fatah movement in Abbas, which controls the PA, and is considered close to the president.
Marwan Vishara, senior political analyst at Al Jazeera, said Al Sheikh had been “maintained for the past 18 years” by Abbas.
“he [al-Sheikh] Vishara has been around since 2007 after Abbas took over after the split in the West Bank when it was occupied by Gaza and the occupied,” Vishara said the new assistant leader is the key figure to coordinate with Israel on security issues.
“The Israelites know him and trust him. They know him and trust Abbas.”
Since 2007 he has served as director of the Civil General, the authority responsible for many coordination with Israel in the occupied West Bank.
In 2022 he became a sensitive portfolio, executive director of the PLO Executive Committee and head of the negotiations, showing a close relationship with Abbas.
Abbas recently appointed him as head of the committee overseeing the Palestinian Foreign Relations Committee overseas.
early life
Al Sheikh was born in Ramallah in 1960 during Nakbah in 1948 to a family of merchants who had been ethnically cleansed from the village.
At age six, he saw Israel occupying the West Bank. He was imprisoned as a teenager by Israel and spent ten years behind bars from 1978 to 1988.
During his imprisonment he learned Hebrew. Hebrew learned the skills to put him in a good position to negotiate with Israel later.
When he was released he remained with Fatah and climbed the ranks.
He is the father of four daughters and two sons.
What’s coming next
If Abbas’ death or resignation occurs, the vice-chairman is expected to become the acting chief of PLO and Palestinian states recognized by approximately 150 countries.
There is growing concern within the PLO that Israel could exploit Abbas’ departure and potential power vacuum.
Hamas senior official Bassem Naim gave a chilly reception to the appointment of Al Sheikh.
“The Palestinians are not the flocks imposed on leaders with a questionable history that linked the present and future to occupation,” he said in a statement.
“Legality is held only by the Palestinian people… protection against our people has long been gone.”
The PLO is an umbrella organization made up of several Palestinian political factions. However, it excludes Hamas and Islamic jihad, currently fighting Israeli forces in Gaza, exposing Hamas and Islamic jihad, who are in conflict with Abbas.
Founded in 1964, the PLO is authorized to negotiate and sign international treaties on behalf of the Palestinians, but the PA is responsible for governing the Palestinian territory, particularly the governing portion of the occupied West Bank.
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