Palestinian leader Abbas names likely successor in bid to reassure world powers

RAMALLAH – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh as his deputy and likely successor on April 26, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.

Mr Abbas, 89, has headed the PLO and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but he had for years resisted internal reforms including the naming of a successor.

Mr Sheikh, born in 1960, is a veteran of Fatah, the main PLO faction which was founded by Mr Arafat and is now headed by Mr Abbas. He is widely viewed as a pragmatist with very close ties to Israel.

He was named PLO Vice-President after the organisation’s executive committee approved his nomination by Mr Abbas, the PLO said in a statement.

Reform of the PA, which exercises limited autonomy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has been a priority for the US and Gulf monarchies hoping the body can play a central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Pressure to reform has intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, where the PLO’s main Palestinian rival Hamas has battled Israel for more than 18 months, leaving the tiny, crowded territory in ruins.

The US has promoted the idea of a reformed PA governing in Gaza after the war. Gulf monarchies, which are seen as the most likely source of funding for reconstruction in Gaza after the war, also want major reforms of the body.

Call for Hamas to disarm

Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the destruction of Hamas but it has also ruled out giving the PA any role in government there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin