Palestinian President Abbas sets path for succession with new decree
Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), has set the path for his succession with a new decree that could see one of his loyalists replace him in an interim period.
The decree, published on Wednesday on the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, states that the president of the Palestinian National Council - a position currently held by veteran Fatah leader Rawhi Fattouh - would temporarily take over the PA presidency should it become vacant.
The interim president would hold the position for 90 days until presidential elections are held, in accordance with Palestinian electoral law, the decree said.
A senior Fatah source, who did not wish to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, told Middle East Eye that Abbas' move came after "enormous American pressure".
According to him, there is a plan to form a committee to administer Gaza's civil affairs after the war. The committee would be announced by Abbas but the PA will have no power within it, the source said.
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Additionally, the incoming Trump administration will work towards the annexation of the occupied West Bank or parts of it.
'The next American administration is indeed interested in the annexation, therefore, I don’t think that the remaining of the Palestinian Authority serves its interests'
- Fatah source
With those two factors in mind, the source said that Abbas' - and by extension the PA's - role will be sidelined.
"The next American administration is indeed interested in the annexation, therefore, I don’t think that the remaining of the Palestinian Authority serves its interests," the source said.
Senior Palestinian sources told Haaretz that Abbas was pressured to announce his retirement or choose a replacement if he could no longer fulfil his duties.
The decree replaces the current law, which stipulates that the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) become president in case of a power vacuum.
However, the PLC has been dissolved for years, with the last elected speaker being from Fatah's rival, Hamas.
Corruption scandal
The current Palestinian National Council president Rawhi Fattouh previously served as interim Palestinian president in 2004 following the death of Yasser Arafat until Abbas was elected in January 2005.
He also previously served as the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), which acts as parliament.
Abbas's pick comes with some controversy, as Fattouh was embroiled in a corruption scandal in 2008 when he was caught at the Allenby crossing between Jordan and Israel with 3,000 mobile phones in his car.
Fattouh was allegedly smuggling the phones, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to The Jerusalem Post, and using his Israeli-issued VIP pass to make it easier to make it through the crossing with the phones.
Fattouh denied the allegation at the time of the incident, blaming his driver for trying to smuggle the phones.
Abbas, and by extension, the PA, is seen as a widely unpopular figure among Palestinians. His rise to power as president also coincided with the increased suppression of individual freedoms in the West Bank.
He oversaw the split between the West Bank and Gaza in 2007 after Hamas's electoral victory in parliamentary elections erupted into a civil war that saw Abbas and the PA take over the West Bank while Hamas took control of Gaza.
Over the years, hundreds of dissidents, including students, have been arrested by PA security forces. One of the major sources of scrutiny for Abbas has been on the subject of the PA's security coordination with Israel.
Under Abbas, the PA has coordinated and shared intelligence with Israel about Palestinians suspected of planning operations against the Israeli occupation.
Abbas and the PA have also been criticised for rampant corruption and their inability to curb increased Israeli settler encroachments on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlements are considered illegal according to international law.
And since the Israeli war on Gaza, Hamas has seen a rise in popularity in the West Bank.
Despite his unpopularity, the 89-year-old has been PA president for two decades. In 2021, he delayed the first Palestinian elections in 15 years.
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