Ramallah -

After talking about differences within the ranks of the Fatah movement over the nomination of its candidate for membership in the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sudden announcement, on Tuesday, was the unanimous selection of a member of its central committee, Hussein al-Sheikh.

Sheikh will occupy the position of Secretary of the Executive Committee of the organization, succeeding Saeb Erekat, who died in November 2020, as stated in the Fatah movement’s announcement.

The name of the sheikh was not the result of this candidacy. Over the past two years, the name of the man has emerged as the closest to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and the luckiest person to succeed him, which is supported by this candidacy more. The Palestinian Authority "Mahmoud Abbas", and whoever replaces him in the event of his absence or death until the elections.

The 61-year-old Sheikh is the head of the General Authority for Civil Affairs, which makes him responsible for the file of the relationship with Israel, and everything related to that, including managing files of clearing funds, permits, family unification, economic facilities, and others.

Hussein Al-Sheikh (right) responsible for civil coordination in the Palestinian Authority with the Israeli occupation (social networking sites)

His position was also strengthened by his closeness to the president and his accompaniment to him in all internal, regional and Arab political and security meetings, which enhanced his chances of succeeding Abbas. It will be resolved once and for all."

Al-Masry continues to Al-Jazeera Net, "There were differences over who would take this position, and after the announcement of the Sheikh's name means that this round was settled in his favour, and the last round remains with the next organization's central meeting."

Al-Masry links this candidacy with a number of decisions and laws that pave the way for the post-Palestinian president period.

In the Palestinian political circumstances, in light of the disruption of the Legislative Council, the law stipulates that in the absence or death of the President of the Palestinian Authority, the Legislative President will deputize for him, and the obstacles to convening the National Council, the “Parliament of the Liberation Organization,” become the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Organization is the strongest candidate to be the deputy.

Hussein Al-Sheikh (left) is the closest to Palestinian President Abu Mazen and the strongest candidate to succeed him so far (social networking sites)

The organization fills the power vacuum

Although he refrained from commenting on the recent developments in the election of Hussein al-Sheikh to membership in the Executive Committee, committee member Wasel Abu Youssef had stated in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net after postponing the legislative elections that were scheduled last spring, and the constitutional problem would have been resolved in the absence of President Mahmoud Abbas for any reason. , that the PLO can fill the void that could be created by the absence of the legislative body.

Abu Yusef added, "The Palestinian Authority is an arm of the Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and when the Legislative Council is dissolved, we will have supervisory and sovereign bodies within the framework of the PLO that can continue its work and replace it."

According to Abu Youssef, "The Liberation Organization is the one who established the authority, and it has the decision in everything related to it and it has its measures in the event of any vacancy in any leadership position."

It is scheduled to resolve the Sheikh's victory in the position of Secretary during the meeting of the Central Council of the organization, which delegated the powers of the National Council, scheduled for the first week of next February.

The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization is composed of 15 members representing all of the organization's factions as well as independents. The Fatah movement's share is 3 members, but some of the independent members are affiliated with the movement.

This is in addition to the fact that representatives of the factions, especially the smaller ones, agree to any option for Fatah movement and the president, to be submitted later to the Central Council, which delegated some of the powers of the National Council of the organization, in which the Fatah movement constitutes the majority.

Although this position was previously occupied by members of the Executive Committee from outside Fatah, the chances of the movement’s candidate are the strongest, says Nihad Abu Ghosh, a member of the organization’s National Council. Regulatory bodies without exception.

Wasel Abu Youssef confirms that the organization has mechanisms to fill the vacuum of the absence of the Legislative Council empowered to choose the president (Al-Jazeera)

Need a popular base

Abu Ghosh agrees, in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, that the Sheikh's proximity to the president and his being an option accepted by Israel and the American administration, makes him a strong candidate to succeed the president, and that his election step for the organization's executive will constitute an "important threshold" for moving after that to the stage of the president, but in return he needs a popular base. to win the election.

For his part, a member of the organization's executive committee, Bassam al-Salihi, believes that it is not necessary that the sheikh's nomination for membership of the executive committee should be that he will have the position of secretary.

As he tells Al Jazeera Net, this matter is subject to consultation within the Executive and his election by the Central Council.

Al-Salihi clarifies the mechanism for selecting the secretary, as the organization’s executive committee proposes the names of the candidates for the position, and in the event of consensus, he is chosen, otherwise the names will be submitted to the Central Council to be decided in the elections.