Hussain al-Sheikh: Will he succeed Mahmoud Abbas?

For the first time, the state of Palestine has a vice president. Hussain al-Sheikh, a key ally of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, was appointed to the role on Saturday. 

Abbas has long delayed deciding on a deputy. 

There are at least two reasons for this, Qossay Hamed, an expert on Palestinian politics and academic at Al-Quds Open University in Ramallah, told Middle East Eye.

"He knew that as soon as he announced a vice president, it would mean he would gradually lose his power and influence," Hamed said. 

"He also didn't want to cause an internal clash between Fatah leaders," the academic added, referring to Abbas' political party. 

Despite the president's reluctance, recent demands from international backers, particularly Arab leaders, forced Abbas into officially selecting a number two. 

And while it's not a foregone conclusion, Sheikh's ascent now makes him the frontrunner to succeed the ageing president, who turns 90 in November.

What is Hussain al-Sheikh's background?

Sheikh was born in 1960 in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which at the time was administered by Jordan. He was six during the 1967 war, after which Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza, Syria’s Golan Heights and Egypt’s Sinai, in violation of international law. 

In the decade that followed, Sheikh joined the struggle against Israeli occupation. In 1978, he was accused of belonging to a cell involved in attacks against Israel and jailed for 11 years. Sheikh denied any involvement in violence. 

“He claimed he was never involved in any terrorist attacks, but that he was jailed for his leadership role,” Abed Abou Shhadeh, a Palestinian political analyst based in Jaffa, told Middle East Eye. 

Israel’s military has since said that it has lost its records of Sheikh’s trial, something Abou Shhadeh disputes: “Israel doesn’t lose anything."

During his incarceration, Sheikh read books and newspapers to teach himself about Israeli affairs. He also picked up Hebrew from his Israeli guards, and even began teaching it to other Palestinian inmates. Those language skills would become particularly useful to him in subsequent decades. 

Upon his release, Sheikh became involved in the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising, a coalition of groups which played an organising role during the First Intifada between December 1987 and September 1993. 

How did Hussain al-Sheikh rise to power?

During the 1990s, after the signing of the Oslo Accords, Palestinians were given a degree of autonomy to run certain affairs in the West Bank and Gaza via the Palestinian Authority. 

Sheikh joined the ranks of Fatah, which dominated the semi-autonomous administration. Initially he served as a colonel in the preventative security division from 1994, where his role included rooting out political opponents such as Hamas. 

His Hebrew skills were put to use in the security service, through which he built connections with Israeli officials and acted as translator during meetings. 

By the turn of the century, Sheikh had become Fatah’s secretary in the West Bank, and grew in prominence in the party after the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004 and the succession of Abbas as PA president. 

Since 2009, he has been a member of Fatah’s central committee, and acted as the party’s official spokesperson since 2016. 

It is as head of civilian affairs in the West Bank, a role he has held since 2007, that has proved his most controversial.

The role gave his office responsibility over travel permits for Palestinians entering Israel for work or medical care. 

But the office has long been accused by Palestinians of corruption, including accepting favours or payments in exchange for travel permits. Sheikh denies any involvement in corruption.

His proximity to Israeli authorities has led to accusations that Sheikh, as well as the PA more broadly, are subcontractors for the occupation. 

Abbas has also quietly cracked down on opposition to his authority in the West Bank, with which Sheikh has been closely associated due to his role. 

The PA’s security forces have also targeted on resistance activities, including besieging the city of Jenin earlier this year.   

“There are fears that Sheikh will continue to crack down on any revolutionary efforts, whatever form these revolutionary efforts will take,” said Hamed.

But despite the unpopularity of the PA, Sheikh has used his role within the administration to build an influence. “When you talk about the PA, you’re talking about 100,000 employees. Teachers, police officers, security forces,” Abou Shhahed said. “These are people with families who must work.” 

Could Hussain al-Sheikh succeed Abbas? 

During his career, Sheikh has become known as a business-like administrator. He initially garnered little direct criticism from political rivals. “Sheikh’s perceived as a grey bureaucrat,” said Abou Shhadeh. “He’s not seen as someone who poses a threat.” 

But behind the scenes, he has manoeuvred to become Abbas’ key right-hand man.

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“He is a Machiavellian. Everyone around who disagreed with Abu Mazen was pushed out,” said Abou Shhadeh, using "Abu Mazen", Abbas’ kunya Arabic nickname. “Sheikh stayed by his side through everything. Even when Abu Mazen was polling at six percent.”

Among the senior Fatah figures who fell out with Abbas and the party’s leadership over the years were Marwan Barghouti and Mohammed Dahlan. 

Barghouti, a former member of Fatah’s senior leadership, has been imprisoned by Israel since 2002. 

Dahlan, also an ex-Fatah leader, was exiled to the UAE in 2011. He has since become an influential adviser to the Emirati president.

Both Barghouti and Dahlan are seen as figures who could succeed Abbas. In polling carried out by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in September 2024, Barghouti topped the list of leaders who Palestinians wanted to succeed Abbas. 

Thirty-seven percent said that they wanted Barghouti as successor, while 30 percent wanted former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israel in October 2024, a month after the poll.

Ten percent of those polled chose Dahlan, and five percent chose Mustafa Barghouti, leader of the Palestinian National Initiative. Sheikh was not included as an option.

“Sheikh is not a leader on the streets, or a national leader, like Barghouti or Dahlan. He is not very popular among Palestinians,” said Hamed. “His position within the PA and PLO and his connection with the Israelis has given him power.”

In a future election, Abou Shhadeh said Sheikh was unlikely to win. “If Barghouti’s movement decided to run him as an imprisoned candidate, Sheikh doesn’t stand a chance,” he said. “Not even against Dahlan either.” 

The PA has not held elections since 2006. While there was broad consensus among Palestinian factions to head to the polls in 2021, Abbas ultimately backed out, citing Israeli restrictions over voting in East Jerusalem.

Who are Hussain al-Sheikh's other political rivals?

Ohers within the ranks of Fatah, who unlike Barghouti and Dahlan have not been exiled or jailed, also think they can succeed Abbas. 

Hamed said: “There are many heads within Fatah who have wished to fill [the vice president] position, such as Jibril Rajoub, Mahmoud al-Aloul, Majed Faraj and others in Fatah. They see themselves as having more of a right than Hussein al-Sheikh to success Abu Mazen."

Rajoub is a former security chief who currently heads the Palestinian football association. Aloul is vice chair of Fatah's highest decision making body, while Faraj is the PA's intelligence chief. 

Hamas, the long-time political rival of Fatah, gave Sheikh's promotion a cold reaction. 

“The Palestinian people are not a herd to have imposed upon them leaders with dubious history who have tied their present and future to the occupation,” senior official Bassem Naim said. “Legitimacy is held only by the Palestinian people.”

If Sheikh is serious about being a potential president, then he will need to work hard to convice factions - including in his own party - that he has a new political agenda for Palestinians. 

“There’s not much hope that he will change the life of the Palestinians,” said Hamed. “He is perceived as a continuation of the policies of Abu Mazen.”