Jack Khoury
Haaretz / May 12 2026
As Gaza lies in ruins and the Palestinian Authority sinks deeper into crisis, Fatah’s long-delayed conference is centered on one question: who will rule after Mahmoud Abbas ?
Six months after turning 90, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas still holds three titles. In addition to serving as president of the Palestinian Authority, he is also chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and head of Fatah, the largest faction in the organization.
About six months ago, Abbas tried to begin outlining a path for the post-Abbas era when he announced that his deputy, Hussein al-Sheikh, would serve as interim president until elections are held.
But with no clear succession mechanism and no internal agreement on who should lead next, Fatah has become an arena for rival camps competing for influence and control.
This is not how Fatah’s Eighth General Conference, scheduled to open on May 14 in Ramallah, was supposed to look. Nearly a decade has passed since the previous conference, and the Palestinian reality has changed dramatically. The Palestinian Authority, for which Fatah serves as the political and organizational backbone, is facing its deepest crisis since its establishment. In many ways, this crisis reflects the broader leadership crisis among Palestinians, divided between Gaza and the West Bank, in what many see as the gravest national rupture since 1948.
Yet, instead of holding a strategic debate about the movement’s future, including soul-searching over internal Palestinian divisions, relations with Israel, the collapse of the political process, and the aftermath of October 7 and the war in Gaza, the conference is centered largely on one question: shaping the balance of power within Fatah for the day after Abbas. In other words, the struggle over succession.
“Few believe this conference will bring new political tidings. What seems certain is that its results will influence the balance of power that will define the movement and the PA in the coming years,” a Fatah activist who has not yet decided whether to attend, told Haaretz.
Opponents of Abbas believe Yasser Abbas is being pushed forward in part to counter Hussein al-Sheikh, his father’s deputy and, until recently, one of his closest confidants.
According to him, as Abbas approaches the end of his political career and prepares to celebrate his 91st birthday later this year, elections for the Central Committee have become far more than an internal contest. They are viewed as a test of strength among the factions expected to compete for future leadership, including representatives of the security services, the veteran generation, and younger figures rising within the movement.
Approximately 2,500 delegates are expected to participate in the conference. Most will come from the West Bank, while others will join by video from Gaza, Egypt and refugee camps in Lebanon. Delegates will elect 18 representatives to the Central Committee, Fatah’s most powerful body, along with dozens of members to the Revolutionary Council, the movement’s quasi-legislative body.
At the center of the drama is Yasser Abbas, the son of President Mahmoud Abbas, who is running for a seat on the Central Committee. The younger Abbas, a 64-year-old businessman who until recently was not considered a major figure in Fatah, has increasingly appeared alongside his father at political meetings and official events over the past two years. He attends as his father’s assistant, adviser or personal representative, in what appears to be an effort to gradually introduce him into the political arena and position him as a figure of influence.
A veteran Fatah activist says several recent moves by Yasser Abbas, his father, and their close associates have raised questions within the movement. In recent weeks, Yasser Abbas has joined a series of highly publicized meetings with senior Palestinian security officials and leaders of the Prisoners’ Administration, two major power centers within Fatah and the PA.
In addition, dozens of security personnel, many of them formerly part of President Abbas’ personal guard, were recently added to the conference as voting delegates. Another point drawing scrutiny is Yasser Abbas’ attempt to run as a representative of Fatah’s branch in Lebanon, even though he lives and works primarily alongside his father in Ramallah.
Efforts to promote the president’s son at a time when public trust in the PA is low, and when no general elections have been held for 20 years, symbolize the disconnect between the Palestinian leadership and the people.
Supporters of Yasser Abbas argue that his family ties should not disqualify him from seeking a leadership role.
“It’s clear to everyone that leadership of the Palestinian people is not hereditary. Ultimately, the ballot box will decide, so I don’t see a problem with it,” a person close to Abbas told Haaretz.
But for many Palestinians, the issue is no longer simply personal. Efforts to promote the president’s son at a time when public trust in the PA is low, and when no general elections have been held for two decades, have come to symbolize the widening disconnect between the Palestinian leadership and the public.
Opponents of Abbas believe Yasser Abbas is being pushed forward in part to counter Hussein al-Sheikh, his father’s deputy and, until recently, one of his closest confidants.
‘If Faraj and Yasser Abbas both enter the Central Committee, it will create a barrier against al-Sheikh and his ambitions.’
Al-Sheikh, a veteran official viewed in Israel as pragmatic, has increasingly acted as the PA’s de facto president in recent months. He conducts political meetings throughout the region and regularly meets governors and security officials. As a result, many see him as carving out an independent power base and consolidating influence ahead of the post-Abbas era. At the same time, he continues to stress publicly that the next president must be chosen through elections.
Complicating matters further is another contender from the old guard: Majed Faraj, head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service and one of the most influential figures within the PA. Faraj, a close confidant of Abbas, grew up in the Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem and enjoys substantial support in refugee camps across the West Bank.
“If Faraj and Yasser Abbas both enter the Central Committee, it will create a barrier against Al-Sheikh and his ambitions, especially when it comes to rallying the security services behind him,” said a Fatah member who previously served in the security services.
Other veteran candidates for the committee, including former Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who resigned in 2024, and Jibril Rajoub, chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, still wield considerable political influence.
At the same time, several veteran Fatah figures who have criticized Abbas over the years are now fighting for political survival. Among them are Abbas Zaki and former intelligence chief Tawfik Tirawi.
Other veteran candidates for the committee, including former Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who resigned in 2024, and Jibril Rajoub, chairman of the Palestinian Football Association, still wield considerable political influence. But they too risk being sidelined amid growing criticism of figures associated with the old regime.
Younger members of Fatah are seeking to inject new life into the movement in hopes of restoring public trust and reconnecting with a younger, increasingly disillusioned generation. They argue that doing so requires fundamental change, beginning with a clear political vision and coherent policies on the major issues facing Palestinians: the expanding occupation, settler violence, the devastation in Gaza, and the economic collapse in the West Bank.
For many Palestinians, Huam Zomlot, who was born and raised in Gaza and is currently the Palestinian ambassador in London, represents a newer and more sophisticated generation of leadership. He speaks the language of international diplomacy, has ties to global media, and projects a more modern image of Fatah. He is one of the conference’s most intriguing figures. His standing may be strengthened as part of an effort to present a new face for the movement. But despite the importance of the international arena, the outcome still depends largely on the delegates gathered in Ramallah.
“The conference may appear from the outside as a struggle over the remnants of power within a faltering PA, but its significance is critical,” a former Central Committee member told Haaretz. “One way or another, Abbas will soon leave the stage, and Fatah’s Central Committee may end up deciding who leads the Palestinians for the foreseeable future.”
Hovering above all these internal battles is the figure of Marwan Barghouti, who remains immensely popular in both Gaza and the West Bank despite having spent nearly 25 years in an Israeli prison, and perhaps because of it.
Barghouti formally remains a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, and many believe he is the only figure capable of restoring some of the legitimacy the movement has lost. Some within Fatah have not ruled out the possibility that, at a decisive moment, Barghouti could be declared the movement’s next chairman, accompanied by an Arab and international campaign calling for the release of the man often described as “the Palestinian Mandela.”
At the same time, Barghouti’s associates and supporters are deeply worried about his health. Last August, he appeared gaunt and visibly weakened in footage released during a visit to his prison cell by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Although the conference is officially being held in the spirit of internal reconciliation and is meant to include representatives from different factions, many expect it to deepen existing divisions. Two prominent opponents of President Abbas are expected to boycott the gathering.
The first is Nasser al-Qudwa, former PLO representative to the UN and nephew of Yasser Arafat. Al-Qudwa was recently reinstated into Fatah after years of exile and expulsion, but he announced he would not participate, arguing that the conference had become an arena for personal power struggles rather than genuine political debate.
Mohammed Dahlan and members of the reformist faction aligned with him are also unlikely to attend. Dahlan, the former head of Gaza’s Preventive Security Force, was expelled from Fatah more than a decade ago. Recent reconciliation efforts, driven mainly by Egyptian mediators, have failed.
“The problem with this conference is not only the succession struggle,” a reformist faction activist told Haaretz. “It is also the feeling that Fatah no longer functions as a national liberation movement with a clear political vision, but rather as a governing system consumed by internal battles over power, money and influence.”
According to the activist, public interest in the conference and in Fatah’s internal politics more broadly has reached an all-time low. Years without elections, repeated accusations of corruption, worsening economic conditions, and a deep sense of political stagnation have all contributed to widespread public disengagement.
Abbas and his inner circle may be focused on who secures seats on the Central Committee and who gets pushed aside. But for many Palestinians, the more fundamental question is whether Fatah is still capable of redefining its role in a way that offers a credible future for the Palestinian national movement.
