AP

Possible successor to Abbas warns Israel, but works with it

Jun 13, 2022, 11:13 PM | Updated: 11:49 pm

Newly appointed secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organizati...

Newly appointed secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Hussein al-Sheikh gives an interview to The Associate Press, at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, June 13, 2022. Al-Sheikh increasingly seen as a successor to the 86-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, says relations with Israel have gotten so bad that Palestinian leaders cannot go on with business as usual. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official increasingly seen as a successor to the 86-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, says relations with Israel have gotten so bad that Palestinian leaders cannot go on with business as usual.

But even if they are serious this time around, they have few options. And they appear unlikely to do anything that undermines their own limited power in parts of the occupied West Bank, which largely stems from their willingness to cooperate with Israel.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Monday, al-Sheikh defended the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, saying it was doing the best it could under the difficult circumstances of Israel’s 55-year-old military occupation. As the point man in charge of dealing with Israel, he said there is no choice but to cooperate to meet the basic needs of Palestinians.

“I am not a representative for Israel in the Palestinian territories,” he said. “We undertake the coordination because this is the prelude to a political solution for ending the occupation.”

Al-Sheikh saw his profile rise further last month after Abbas named him the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The appointment has generated speculation that al-Sheikh is being groomed for the top job — as well as criticism that the autocratic Abbas, who has not held a nationwide election since 2006, is once again ignoring the wishes of his people.

Al-Sheikh, 61, declined to say whether he wants to succeed Abbas. He said the next president should be chosen through elections, but that they could only be held if Israel allows voting in all of east Jerusalem, effectively giving it a veto over any alternative leadership.

“The Palestinian president cannot be appointed, or come to power by force, or come because of some regional or international interest, or arrive on an Israeli tank,” he said.

Al-Sheikh recited a familiar litany of complaints: Israel’s government is beholden to right-wing nationalists, its prime minister opposed to Palestinian statehood. Settlements are expanding, Palestinians are being forcibly relocated, and the U.S. and Europe seem powerless to stop it.

“The Palestinian leadership is on the verge of making major and difficult decisions,” al-Sheikh said, when asked about Abbas’ threat to cut security ties or even withdraw recognition of Israel, a cornerstone of the Oslo peace process in the 1990s. “We have no partner in Israel. They don’t want a two-state solution. They don’t want to negotiate.”

But the Israelis meet with al-Sheikh all the time.

As head of the Palestinian body that coordinates Israeli permits — and a close aide to Abbas — he meets with senior Israeli officials more often than any other Palestinian.

Israeli officials view him as “a very, very positive player in the Palestinian arena,” said Michael Milshtein, an Israeli expert on Palestinian affairs who used to advise COGAT, the military body in charge of civilian affairs in the West Bank.

“Because of his close relations with Israel, he can achieve a lot of positive things for the Palestinian people,” including permits and development projects, he said. But most Palestinians “cannot really accept this kind of image of a Palestinian leader who actually is the one who serves Israel’s interest.”

Al-Sheikh’s career follows the trajectory of his generation of Palestinian leaders — aspiring revolutionaries transformed into local power brokers by the failed, decades-long peace process.

His official biography says he was imprisoned by Israel from 1978-1989 and took part in the first intifada, or uprising against Israeli rule, upon his release. After the Palestinians secured limited self-rule in Gaza and parts of the occupied West Bank through the 1993 Oslo agreements, al-Sheikh joined the nascent security forces, rising to the level of colonel. He says he was a wanted man during the second and more violent intifada in the early 2000s.

He is a lifelong member of Fatah, a movement launched by Yasser Arafat in the late 1950s. Today Fatah dominates the PLO, which is supposed to represent all Palestinians, and the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security.

Abbas, who was elected in 2005 after Arafat’s death, is opposed to armed struggle and committed to a two-state solution. But during his 17 years in power the peace process has become a distant memory, the Palestinians have been split politically and geographically by the rift with the Islamic militant group Hamas, and the PA has become increasingly unpopular.

Diana Buttu, a Palestinian lawyer who used to advise the PA, said Abbas believes “that the future of the Palestinian people is tied up to him as an individual,” surrounding himself with loyalists who won’t challenge him.

Abbas called off the first elections in 15 years in April 2021, a vote in which his Fatah party was widely expected to suffer a humiliating defeat. He said he was delaying the vote until Israel explicitly allowed voting in all of east Jerusalem. But only a small number of voters in the city require Israeli permission, and the PA refused to consider alternative arrangements.

Israel annexed east Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally and views the entire city as its unified capital. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem — which includes major holy sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims — to be the capital of their future state.

“If the price of elections is that I concede on Jerusalem, it is impossible. You won’t find a single Palestinian who will agree to that,” al-Sheikh said.

That may be true, but it could also effectively prevent the Palestinians from replacing the current leadership, leaving it entrenched for years to come.

Dimitri Diliani, a senior member of Fatah who supports an anti-Abbas faction, said none of the president’s inner circle are electable, pointing to recent polls showing that nearly 80% of Palestinians want Abbas to resign.

Diliani described al-Sheikh as “an active, smart person,” a pragmatist who who seizes opportunities — but who was also short-sighted. “Abu Mazen is a sinking ship, and whoever is on it is going down with him,” Diliani said.

Still, al-Sheikh has a unique lever of power that could prove more important than electability — access to Israeli permits.

He has been in charge of the General Authority of Civil Affairs since 2007. That’s where Palestinians must apply if they want to enter Israel for work, family visits or medical care; to import or export anything; or to get national ID cards.

“If you need anything, absolutely anything, in Palestine, he’s your go-to man. He’s actively hated among Palestinians, but he’s also very, very much needed for that reason,” said Tahani Mustafa, a Palestinian analyst at the International Crisis Group.

“If succession was to happen through legitimate channels, there’s no way Hussein al-Sheikh would withstand a popular vote,” she said. “If you are to impose that kind of leadership on Palestinians, then absolutely you are going to face pushback.”

Al-Sheikh says there’s no alternative to the coordination. “The movement of Palestinians, the crossings, the borders, are all under Israeli control,” he said. “I’m an authority under occupation.”

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              Newly appointed secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Hussein al-Sheikh talks during an interview with The Associate Press at his office, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, June 13, 2022. Al-Sheikh increasingly seen as a successor to the 86-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, says relations with Israel have gotten so bad that Palestinian leaders cannot go on with business as usual. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
            
              Newly appointed secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Hussein al-Sheikh gives an interview to The Associate Press at his office, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, June 13, 2022. Al-Sheikh increasingly seen as a successor to the 86-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, says relations with Israel have gotten so bad that Palestinian leaders cannot go on with business as usual. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
            
              Newly appointed secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Hussein al-Sheikh gives an interview to The Associate Press, at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, June 13, 2022. Al-Sheikh increasingly seen as a successor to the 86-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, says relations with Israel have gotten so bad that Palestinian leaders cannot go on with business as usual. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

AP

A demonstrator in Tel Aviv holds a sign calling for a cease-fire in the Hamas-Israel war on Nov. 21...

Associated Press

Hamas releases a third group of hostages as part of truce, and says it will seek to extend the deal

The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as the first American was released under a four-day truce.

4 days ago

Men look over the site of a deadly explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 18, ...

Associated Press

New AP analysis of last month’s deadly Gaza hospital explosion rules out widely cited video

The Associated Press is publishing an updated visual analysis of the deadly Oct. 17 explosion at Gaza's Al-Ahli Hospital.

7 days ago

Peggy Simpson holds a photograph of law enforcement carrying Lee Harvey Oswald's gun through a hall...

Associated Press

JFK assassination remembered 60 years later by surviving witnesses to history, including AP reporter

Peggy Simpson is among the last surviving witnesses who are sharing their stories as the nation marks the 60th anniversary.

7 days ago

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Sunday, ...

Associated Press

Israeli Cabinet approves cease-fire with Hamas; deal includes release of 50 hostages

Israel’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved a cease-fire deal with the Hamas militant group that would bring a temporary halt to a devastating war.

8 days ago

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump helps serve food to Texas Natio...

Associated Press

Trump receives endorsement from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a visit to a US-Mexico border town

Donald Trump picked up the Texas governor’s endorsement Sunday during a visit to a U.S.-Mexico border town.

10 days ago

Eric Trump, executive vice president of Trump Organization Inc., speaks to the media as he leaves f...

Associated Press

Lawyers in Trump’s civil fraud trial are ordered to clam up about judge’s communications with staff

Eric Trump testified Friday that he was relying on accountants to ensure the accuracy of financial statements.

26 days ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

Valley residents should be mindful of plumbing ahead of holidays

With Halloween in the rear-view and more holidays coming up, Day & Night recommends that Valley residents prepare accordingly.

...

Midwestern University

Midwestern University: innovating Arizona health care education

Midwestern University’s Glendale Campus near Loop 101 and 59th Avenue is an established leader in health care education and one of Arizona’s largest and most valuable health care resources.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

Possible successor to Abbas warns Israel, but works with it