Last month, the magazine Foreign Policy published a profile of Hussein al-Sheikh, currently the secretary-general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and one of several politicians vying to succeed the aging Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas. Hussain Abdul-Hussain takes a closer look at Sheikh, noting his unpopularity among Palestinians, and examines the looming succession struggle more closely:
If Sheikh wants to become the PA chairman, he’ll likely have to fend off challenges from stronger and more popular contenders. His competitors, like Sheikh himself, are non-Islamists who have cooperated well with Western and Israeli authorities. While these men should work together to reform the PA and crack down on violent militants and Islamists, it’s doubtful that any of them would settle for anything less than becoming the undisputed PA chief.
When Abbas dies, other armed Palestinian factions—such as Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)—could smell blood and try to wrestle territory from the hands of the warring PA strongmen. If Hamas, the PIJ, or both, manage to displace the PA, the West Bank could be turned into another Gaza Strip. But the West Bank has a higher elevation than Gaza, giving Hamas, the PIJ, and ultimately their sponsor, Tehran, a better view of Israel and its strategic and sensitive spots.
Some might imagine that Israel will watch with glee as Abbas’s successors tear themselves apart. But a civil war carries huge risks for Israel and the region, and increases the chances of an Islamist takeover of the West Bank. If that were to happen, Israel might find itself back in pre-Oslo days, suspending Palestinian self-government until Palestinians can figure out how to produce an authority that can run their affairs without threatening Israel’s security.
Read more on Arab Weekly: https://thearabweekly.com/will-abbas-be-final-palestinian-president