Palestinian President Abbas appoints aide as potential successor

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas appointed a close aide as the first ever vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on Saturday, positioning him as a potential successor to the veteran leader.

Hussein Al Sheikh was appointed by Abbas, 89, after the vice presidency position was created during a convention held in Ramallah this week.

The creation of the post follows years of international pressure to reform the PLO and comes as Arab and Western powers envision an expanded role for Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA) in the post-war governance of the Gaza Strip.

"Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas appointed Hussein Al Sheikh as a deputy (vice president) of the PLO leadership," a member of the organisation's executive committee, Wasel Abu Yousef, told reporters.

Founded in 1964, the PLO is empowered to negotiate and sign international treaties on behalf of the Palestinian people, while the PA is responsible for governance in parts of the Palestinian territories.

The PLO is an umbrella organisation comprising several Palestinian factions, but not Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, which are currently at war with Israeli forces in Gaza.

Sheikh, 64, is a veteran leader of Abbas's Fatah movement, which dominates the PA, and is considered close to the president.

He spent more than 10 years in Israeli jails in the late 1970s and early 80s, during which he learned Hebrew.

In 2022, he was made the PLO Executive Committee's secretary-general and head of its negotiations department, a sensitive portfolio, demonstrating his close ties to Abbas.

Abbas also recently appointed him as the head of a committee overseeing Palestinian diplomatic missions abroad.

In March, at a summit in Cairo about Gaza's post-war future, Abbas had announced he would create a vice presidency within the PLO.

Abbas has been head of the PA since 2005 following the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The following year he was elected to a four-year term, with no presidential vote since.

According to Palestinian officials, in the event of Abbas's death or resignation, the vice president would be expected to become the acting head of the PLO and of the State of Palestine, which is recognised by nearly 150 countries.

Abbas had brought a proposal for creating the vice president post during a PLO convention this week, but it was opposed by several factions who staged a walkout.

They argued that the initiative threatened the PLO's sovereignty and was a sign of foreign interference.

On Wednesday, Abbas argued that creating a vice presidency would strengthen Palestinian institutions and bolster international recognition of the Palestinian state.

Agence France-Presse