PA President Abbas names likely successor in move deemed ‘illegitimate, divisive’
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed a close aide as the first-ever vice president and a potential successor in a move deemed by critics as "illegitimate and divisive."
Hussein al-Sheikh, the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) Executive Committee and close confidant of Abbas, was appointed as vice president of the State of Palestine on Saturday.
The appointment was proposed by Abbas in line with the decision taken last week during a meeting of the Palestinian Central Committee (PCC).
Sheikh, a Fatah veteran, has also been appointed as the vice chairman of the PLO Executive Committee. The two positions were created during the PCC meeting on Thursday as a result of an amendment to the PLO Basic Law.
The meeting of the PCC was boycotted by several of its major factions, including the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Palestinian National Initiative.
The factions accused the PCC of neglecting previous decisions to end security coordination with Israel in the occupied West Bank and failing to work towards implementing the Beijing Agreement, which was reached in July last year, calling for the formation of a Palestinian “national unity” government.
In a statement, Hamas said the meeting “deepens divisions, entrenches isolation, and disappoints our people’s hopes for unity.”
Palestinian lawyer Anis Qassem told Quds News Network (QNN) that “there is nothing legal” about Sheikh’s appointment and that the PCC “has no authority to change or amend the National Charter, as this can only be done through the National Council.”
The president also recently appointed Sheikh as the chief of a committee that oversees Palestinian diplomatic missions abroad. His role in the PA includes being in charge of security coordination between Ramallah and Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank.
Many have speculated that his new appointment aims to pave the way for him to eventually succeed 89-year-old Abbas as president.
However, the move appears unlikely to improve the image of Fatah among Palestinians, many of whom view the party as a closed and corrupt movement that is out of touch with the general public.
Abbas has been head of the Fatah-dominated PA since 2005 following the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Founded in 1964, the PLO has the power to negotiate and sign treaties on behalf of the Palestinian people, while the PA is responsible for governance in parts of the Palestinian territories.
The PA's failure has been especially glaring in the past 18 months of Israel's attacks on Gaza and the West Bank.
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