Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas names Rawhi Fattouh as successor

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), has finally named a successor after years of delaying presidential elections in the occupied West Bank.

Abbas issued a decree stating that Rawhi Fattouh, the president of the Palestinian National Council, would be temporarily appointed as his replacement if the position of PA president becomes vacant, according to a readout of the decree published on Wednesday by the Palestinian news outlet, Wafa.

The decree read that Abbas made the decision out of a "belief and awareness of this delicate stage in the history of the homeland and the Palestinian cause".

If Fattouh becomes interim president, he will serve for 90 days until presidential elections are held, in accordance with Palestinian electoral law.

Fattouh previously served as interim Palestinian president in 2004 following the death of Yasser Arafat until Abbas was elected in January 2005. He also previously served as the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), which acts as parliament.

Abbas's pick comes with some controversy, as Fattouh was embroiled in a corruption scandal in 2008 when he was caught at the Allenby crossing between Jordan and Israel with 3,000 mobile phones in his car.

Fattouh was allegedly smuggling the phones, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to The Jerusalem Post, and using his Israeli-issued VIP pass to make it easier to make it through the crossing with the phones.

Fattouh denied the allegation at the time of the incident, blaming his driver for trying to smuggle the phones.

Senior Palestinian sources told Haaretz that Abbas was pressured to announce his retirement or choose a replacement if he could no longer fulfil his duties.

Abbas, and by extension, the PA, is seen as a widely unpopular figure among Palestinians. His rise to power as president also coincided with the increased suppression of individual freedoms in the West Bank.

He oversaw the split between the West Bank and Gaza in 2007 after Hamas's electoral victory in parliamentary elections erupted into a civil war that saw Abbas and the PA take over the West Bank while Hamas took control of Gaza.

Over the years, hundreds of dissidents, including students, have been arrested by PA security forces. One of the major sources of scrutiny for Abbas has been on the subject of the PA's security coordination with Israel.

Under Abbas, the PA has coordinated and shared intelligence with Israel about Palestinians suspected of planning operations against the Israeli occupation.

Abbas and the PA have also been criticised for rampant corruption and their inability to curb increased Israeli settler encroachments on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlements are considered illegal according to international law.

And since the Israeli war on Gaza, Hamas has seen a rise in popularity in the West Bank.

Despite his unpopularity, the 89-year-old has been PA president for two decades. In 2021, he delayed the first Palestinian elections in 15 years.