Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has named longtime party loyalist Rawhi Fattouh as his successor upon his death or removal from office.
Rawhi Fattouh, who currently serves as president of the Palestinian National Council, briefly served as interim president after Yasser Arafat’s death in 2004. He also previously served as the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), which acts as parliament.
Abbas’ decree, published through the Palestinian news agency Wafa, bypasses existing law that would have placed the speaker of the PLC next in line – a position last held by a member of rival faction Hamas before the council’s dissolution. Instead, it keeps control within Abbas’s inner circle for 90 days until elections can be held.
The timing of Abbas’s succession announcement stems from what senior PA sources describe to Middle East Eye as “enormous American pressure” to establish clear transition protocols. According to the source, the US is looking for a more effective leader to help the transition in Gaza when the war is over.
However, Fattouh’s record is far from clean. In 2008, Israeli authorities caught him attempting to smuggle 3,000 mobile phones through the Allenby crossing using his diplomatic privileges, though he later blamed his driver for the incident.
After two decades in power, Abbas’s tenure has been marked by iron-fisted control and plummeting popularity. The 89-year-old’s grip on power dates to the 2007 Palestinian civil war, when his forces gained control of parts of Judea and Samaria after being booted from Gaza by Hamas. When faced with the prospect of his first election in 15 years, Abbas simply postponed the 2021 vote rather than risk losing power.
While Abbas’s administration drowns in corruption allegations, his security forces have maintained an impressive efficiency in jailing Arab dissidents and acting as Israel’s eyes and ears, which has drawn fierce criticism from his own people. Adding to Abbas’s woes, Hamas has seen its popularity surge in Judea and Samaria since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.”
