Hussein al-Sheikh is a veteran leader of the Fatah movement in Abbas.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he has appointed an aide close to the vice president, as the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) said.
Hussein al-Sheikh was named “Vice”. [vice president] Of the PLO leadership, Wasel Abu Yousef, a member of the PLO executive committee, said on Saturday.
Abbas, 89, won the vice president during the 32nd session of the Central Council of Palestine, held in Ramala earlier this week.
During the session, Abbas reaffirmed his commitment to launching a “comprehensive national dialogue.” It “is intended to involve all Palestinian factions in order to achieve reconciliation and strengthen national unity,” reported the Palestinian telecom agency WAFA.
Abbas also informed the committee about “future political efforts aimed at halting the ongoing Israeli invasion and the war of genocide in the Gaza Strip.”
These include prompt entry into humanitarian and medical aid, ensuring full Palestinian governance in Gaza, and promoting the full withdrawal of Israel from the enclave as a step “toward the occupation and launch a political process to realize an independent Palestinian state from East Jerusalem as its capital.”
This appointment follows years of international pressure to reform the PLO, as Arab and Western countries envision the expanded role of Palestinian authorities (PAs) in postwar governance in the Gaza Strip.
Founded in 1964, the PLO is tasked with negotiating and signing international treaties on behalf of the Palestinians, while the PA is responsible for governance of a limited portion of the occupied Palestinian territory.
The PLO is an umbrella organization made up of several Palestinian factions, but it is not a Hamas and Islamic jihad groups.
The 64-year-old Sheikh is a veteran leader of the Fatah movement in Abbas, which controls the PA, and is considered to be close to the president.
Marwan Vishala, senior political analyst at Al Jazeera, said Sheikh’s role in the PA includes “being responsible for security coordination with Israeli occupation.”
Sheikh has been “mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian authorities and Israeli relations for the past 18 years,” added Vishara.
“Israel knows and trusts him more than they know. He trusts Abbas himself. And, as we all know, Abbas is the ultimate practical/moderate leader in Palestinian authority, and does not like the preferences of the US and the European Union. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his likeness. ”
Analyst Aleph Jafar said a new role was created to pave the way for someone to take the reins from Abbas “as there are so many things that the Palestinian situation requires.”
“We believe that all of these arrangements are preludes to create a successor to Abbas, as the Palestinian political system is already miserable,” Jaffal, director of the Al-Marsad Election Monitoring Centre, told AFP.
The PLO Executive Committee is scheduled to hold another meeting next Saturday to appoint a new Secretary-General.
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