The Fatah veteran, who spent more than 10 years in Israeli prisons in the 1970s and 1980s, is considered a successor to Mahmoud Abbas.
The Fatah veteran, Hussein Al-Sheikh, was appointed vice-president of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
This puts it online to succeed the 89 -year -old leader of the two, Mahmoud Abbas who is also president of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The appointment of Al-Sheikh follows years of international pressure to reform the PLO, highlighted while the Arab and Western actors envisage an extended role for the AP in post-war governance of the Gaza Strip.
The vice-president was created during the 32nd session of the Palestinian Central Council of Ramallah earlier this week, and the appointment of Al-Sheikh officially approved on Saturday.
Al-Sheikh’s career
Al-Sheikh, 64, is a veteran leader of the Abbas Fatah movement, which dominates the AP, and is considered close to the president.
Marwan Bishara, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Senior Policy Analyst, said Al-Sheikh was “cared for for 18 years” by Abbas.
“He (Al-Sheikh) has existed since 2007 after Abbas took over after the separation between Gaza and the occupied West Bank,” said Bishara, noting that the new deputy chief was the main person coordinated with Israel in terms of security.
“The Israelis know him and trust him – more than they know and trust Abbas.”
Since 2007, he has been head of the general authority of civil affairs, the authority which manages a lot of coordination with Israel in occupied West Bank.
In 2022, he was appointed secretary general of the OLP executive committee and head of negotiations, a sensitive portfolio, demonstrating his close ties with Abbas.
Abbas also recently appointed it to the head of a committee supervising Palestinian diplomatic missions abroad.
Early life
Al-Sheikh was born in Ramallah in 1960 from a merchant family who had been ethnically cleaned from their village during the 1948 Nakba.
At the age of six, he saw Israel occupy the West Bank, which probably pushed him to join Fatah at a young age. He was imprisoned by Israel in adolescence, spending 10 years behind bars, from 1978 to 1988.
During his imprisonment, he learned Hebrew, a competence that would place him in a good position to negotiate with Israel later.
When he was released, he stayed with Fatah and climbed the ranks.
He is the father of four daughters and two sons.
What comes then
In the event of the death or resignation of Abbas, the vice-president should become the actor head of the PLO and the State of Palestine, who is recognized by nearly 150 countries.
The concerns increased within the PLO that Israel could exploit the departure of Abbas and a possible vacuum of power.
The senior Hamas official, Bassem Naim, gave the appointment of Al-Sheikh an icy reception.
“The Palestinian people is not a herd that imposed leaders with a doubtful history that has linked their present and their future to the occupation,” he said in a statement.
“Legitimacy is only held by the Palestinian people … Guardianship on our people has been over for a long time.”
OLP is an umbrella organization including several Palestinian political factions. But it excludes Hamas and Islamic jihad, which currently fight Israeli forces in Gaza and disagree with Abbas.
Founded in 1964, the PLO is empowered to negotiate and sign international treaties on behalf of the Palestinian people, while the AP is responsible for the governing parts of the Palestinian territory, in particular the occupied West Bank.
