PNN – A senior Palestinian analyst questioned the decision to appoint Hussein al-Sheikh as deputy to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, saying that Abbas has lost his legitimacy for 16 years.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, citing Shahab News Agency, Omar Assaf, an analyst and Palestinian figure, considered the decision to appoint Hussein Al-Sheikh as deputy to Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, to lack legitimacy at the Palestinian level, and did not consider the council that made this decision to be elected by the Palestinian people.
He added: The meeting held by the Central Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was not aimed at meeting the demands of the Palestinian people, especially in light of the genocidal crimes that Gaza is exposed to and the need to confront the occupiers and achieve unity among Palestinians.
Assaf said: This council was formed illegally and Mahmoud Abbas has lost his legitimacy for 16 years, whether consensual, revolutionary, or electoral legitimacy.
He stated: The decisions issued by this council, including the appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh, are illegal and not binding on the Palestinian people; a people who seek to reclaim the kidnapped liberation organization (by Mahmoud Abbas and his entourage) so that they can freely choose their leaders.
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On the other hand, Hassan Khreisheh, the second deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, also said: The call for the PLO Central Council was not necessary and was intended to meet the demands of some Arab countries for changes in the Palestinian arena. Any reforms must be through the ballot box and according to the will of the Palestinians.
The Palestine Liberation Organization announced on Saturday that its executive committee has elected Hussein al-Sheikh as deputy to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Some analysts believe that the appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh to this position could be a prelude to appointing a successor to Mahmoud Abbas.
In this regard, Al-Shahed News Agency wrote: The appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, as deputy head of the Palestinian Authority, has aroused the admiration and satisfaction of the Americans and Israelis, especially given the extensive and public relations he has with the occupiers and Arab regimes.
Al-Sheikh has been serving as the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Head of the Negotiations Department after Saeb Erekat for four years. He is one of Mahmoud Abbas’ closest confidants and a member of his inner circle, accompanying him on all foreign trips and official meetings, sitting to his right during these meetings.
Foreign Policy magazine previously published a lengthy report on the sheikh, stating that the occupation authorities admire him and view him as a potential successor to Mahmoud Abbas. He has strong ties to Israeli security circles and, in return, is fiercely hostile to the Hamas movement.