Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), has named Rawhi Fattouh to succeed him if he cannot retain his post due to health problems.
As Israel continued its war on Gaza – killing more than 44,000 people and injuring and starving countless others – criticism of Abbas and his presidency intensified.
Abbas, 89, who also heads the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), was elected president of the PA in 2005, a year after the death of then-leader Yasser Arafat.
So why is he naming a successor now and how would the succession process work?
First of all, what is the Palestinian Authority?
The PA was established as an interim Palestinian government under the 1993 Oslo Accords, signed by then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin with Arafat.
The PA was originally designed to administer basic benefits – such as education, security, water and electricity – for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in Gaza and parts of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
Oslo divided the West Bank into areas A, B and C, giving the Palestinian Authority security and administrative control over area A and administrative control over area B.
But Israel regularly carries out violent raids throughout the occupied West Bank.
Critics say the PA effectively acts as a security apparatus on behalf of the Israeli occupation.
Why is the AP still there?
The Oslo Accords, backed by the United States, ostensibly aimed at the creation of a Palestinian state by 1999 in Gaza and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
However, barely a year after signing the accords, Israel was building illegal settlements in the West Bank.
Rabin’s assassination by a far-right Israeli nationalist also dimmed any hopes that Israel would cede the occupied territory to the Palestinian Authority.
Despite failing to create a Palestinian state, the Palestinian Authority remained under Abbas’ leadership indefinitely, even though his term technically ended in 2009.
Why is Abbas still president of the Palestinian Authority?
In 2006, the Hamas group, which did not recognize Israel, won elections to head the Palestinian Authority.
Western donors have frozen funding to force Israel to recognize Israel, which it refuses to do until Israel recognizes a Palestinian state.
Power sharing was attempted between Hamas and the rival Fatah party – which Abbas also leads – but fighting broke out and Hamas expelled Fatah from Gaza.
Fatah has since ruled the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, failing to stop Israel’s encroachment and losing popularity.
Abbas is avoiding legislative and presidential elections because, analysts say, he fears that Fatah will lose to Hamas and that he will lose his position.
Palestinians had hoped to vote in May 2021, but Abbas postponed the elections, accusing Israel of saying it would not allow voting in occupied East Jerusalem.
Did he never have a successor? What if he gets sick?
He only chose his successor a few days ago.
Rawhi Fattouh is the former chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the current chairman of the Palestinian National Council – the legislative body of the PLO – and a member of the Fatah Central Committee.
If Abbas cannot remain president, Fattouh will assume the PA presidency for 90 days until elections can be held. He had already done so, in 2004, when Arafat died.
Fattouh is not power-hungry and will step down easily once a new figure is elected, said Tahani Mustafa, an expert on Palestinian politics for the International Crisis Group.
“Radhi Fattouh… has no political ambition,” she said. “He’s someone who’s just going to pass the torch.”
Why did Abbas do this now?
Apparently, because of pressure from the United States and the Gulf States.
In September, Saudi Arabia joined forces with several Arab and European countries – without specifying which ones – to promote a two-state solution to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Later in September, Riyadh pledged $60 million to the cash-strapped Authority to keep it afloat.
ICG’s Mustafa said Saudi Arabia conditioned the final payment of $10 million on Abbas’ choice of a successor.
The PA has been hamstrung by Israel withholding $188 million in tax revenue it collects on the PA’s behalf – a stipulation from Oslo.
Does Abbas still have power in Palestinian politics?
Yes, him and his entourage.
Abbas still leads Fatah, the largest and oldest Palestinian political group, and has already chosen Mahmoud al-Aloul – vice chairman of the central committee – to take over as party leader after him.
Most importantly, Abbas leads the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is far more powerful than the Palestinian Authority.
The PLO – an umbrella movement of Palestinian factions dominated by Fatah – lobbies for Palestinian rights and makes decisions on their behalf on the world stage.
According to Mustafa, Abbas ensured that his close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh – secretary general of the PLO – succeeded him as head of the country.
To do this, Abbas has staffed the PLO executive council with loyalists to ensure that they will vote someone from his circle into power if elections are held.
“The PA is the least coveted role because it is simply… a service provider,” Mustafa said. “The real cream of the crop here is the PLO and Fatah.”
