Palestinians create role for a vice president and possible successor to aging leader Abbas

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a conference at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Feb. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK — The Palestine Liberation Organization on Thursday announced the creation of a vice presidency under 89-year-old leader Mahmoud Abbas, who has not specified a successor.

The PLO Central Council’s decision came as Abbas seeks greater relevance and a role in postwar planning for the Gaza Strip after having been largely sidelined by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

After a two-day meeting, the council voted to create the role of vice chairman of the PLO Executive Committee. This position would also be referred to as the vice president of the State of Palestine, which the Palestinians hope will one day receive full international recognition.

The expectation is that whoever holds that role would be the front-runner to succeed Abbas — though it’s unclear when or exactly how it would be filled. Abbas is to choose his vice president from among the other 15 members of the PLO’s executive committee.

The PLO is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people and oversees the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in less than half of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Abbas has led both entities for two decades.

Abbas is still seen internationally as the leader of the Palestinians and a partner in any effort to revive the peace process, which ground to a halt when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office in 2009.

But the chain-smoking political veteran has clung to power since his mandate expired in 2009 and has not named a successor. Polls in recent years have shown plummeting support for him and his Fatah party.

Western and Arab donor countries have demanded reforms in the Palestinian Authority for it to play a role in postwar Gaza. The authority is deeply unpopular and faces long-standing allegations of corruption and poor governance. Appointing an heir apparent could be aimed at appeasing his critics.

Hamas, which won the last national elections in 2006, is not in the PLO. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas’ forces in 2007, and reconciliation attempts between the rivals have repeatedly failed.

Hamas touched off the war in Gaza when its militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 people hostage. Israel responded with an air and ground campaign that has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.