RUTHFULLY YOURS

On April 26, a group of unelected Palestinian Authority (PA) officials approved the appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as “Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Vice President of the [non-existent] State of Palestine.”

PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who also serves as chairman of the PLO Executive Committee, had nominated the 64-year-old al-Sheikh for this position in accordance with a decision by the Palestinian Central Council, a body dominated by Abbas loyalists, to create the position of “Deputy Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and Vice President of the State of Palestine.”

The 16-member PLO Executive Committee, which approved the nomination, is also dominated by Abbas loyalists, including al-Sheikh, who was appointed a few years ago by the now 89-year-old Abbas as its secretary general.

The appointment officially elevated al-Sheikh to the position of Number 2 in the PA leadership. Until then, al-Sheikh was viewed by Palestinians as Abbas’s unofficial Vice President. The appointment of al-Sheikh, therefore, did not surprise many Palestinians. At the end of the day, Abbas picked one of his closest confidants to the senior job and his loyalists, without hesitation, rubber-stamped the nomination.

The appointment of al-Sheikh reportedly came as a result of pressure from the international community on Abbas to reform the Palestinian Authority. According to Reuters, “reform of the PA has been a priority for the US and Gulf monarchies hoping the body can play a central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” The news agency said that the appointment is “a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership. Widespread corruption, lack of progress towards an independent [Palestinian] state and increasing Israeli military [counterterrorism] incursions in the West Bank have undermined the PA’s popularity among many Palestinians.”

It is hard to see how the appointment of an official by Abbas and a small group of his loyalists constitutes a step toward reforming the PA. Does Abbas, who has been running the PA as an autocrat, intend to share power with his newly elected vice president? Think again.

When the Palestinian Central Council decided on April 24 to approve the creation of the position of “Deputy Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and Vice President of the State of Palestine,” it made it clear that Abbas “may assign him duties, relieve him of his position, and accept his resignation.” Al-Sheikh, in other words, will be completely dependent on his boss if he wishes to stay in his new job. If Abbas feels that his new deputy is not loyal enough, he can get rid of him any time he wishes. This means that al-Sheikh, like many senior Palestinian officials, will serve as another puppet in the hands of Abbas.

The assumption that the appointment of al-Sheikh would boost the popularity of Abbas and the PA is also dismally off-base. Several public opinion polls published over the past few years show that an overwhelming majority of the Palestinians want Abbas to resign. Abbas is now in the 20th year of his four year-term in office. He was elected to office in the Palestinian Authority’s last presidential election, in 2005.

The last PA parliamentary election was held in 2006, when the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Hamas then took over the Gaza Strip, threw some members of Abbas’s Fatah party to their deaths from the top floors of high buildings, forcibly ousted the rest of the PA, and proceeded to rule Gaza ever since.

Since then, the Palestinians have not been able to hold new elections due to the dispute between Fatah and Hamas.

The polls also show that most Palestinians consider the PA to be extremely corrupt.

In addition, the assumption that Israeli military operations against Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank undermine the PA’s credibility among many Palestinians is also embarrassingly wrong. Polls conducted by Palestinian research groups have revealed that many Palestinians lost faith in the PA not because of the Israeli military operations, but because of rampant financial and administrative corruption in PA institutions. In 2021, the Palestinian Coalition for Integrity and Accountability concluded that the PA’s criminal corruption include nepotism, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of power, bribery, money-laundering and abuse of influence.

The appointment of al-Sheikh needs to be seen in the context of Abbas’s effort to dupe the international community into believing that he is serious about reforming the PA and sharing power. Abbas’s main goal is to rid himself of the image of an autocrat and present himself as a reformist and democrat, so that Western donors will continue to pour money on him – foolishly with no conditions. If anyone thinks that at the age of 89 Abbas is going to share power with anyone, they are deluding themselves.

Over the past two decades, Abbas has systematically cracked down on many of his political rivals and opponents. He has also displayed complete intolerance towards any form of criticism, by firing or imprisoning anyone who dares to speak out against him.

Finally, those who think that al-Sheikh would be different from Abbas are clueless. Al-Sheikh, a veteran member of Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction, is an exact replica of his boss. Abbas and he share the same positions on almost every issue related to Israel. Both have always used harsh rhetoric to condemn and vilify Israel, especially in the international arena.

Al-Sheikh may not represent the old guard in the Palestinian leadership, but his statements and positions reflect those of Abbas and the old guard. The Palestinians need real reforms that will end the corruption in PA institutions and remove corrupt and incompetent officials. The last thing they need is a new game of musical chairs designed to deceive both the Palestinians and the international community.

Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.