For years, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has held an iron grip on energy by ousting rivals, sidelining the judiciary and cooperating with Israel on safety.
Mr. Abbas, 90, has now discovered one other option to prolong his affect: He has been positioning his son, Yasser, for a senior management position in Fatah, the ruling get together of the Palestinian Authority, in accordance with six Palestinian officers, who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate delicate data.
The Palestinian Authority, which workouts restricted self-rule in components of the West Financial institution and which Mr. Abbas has led since 2005, has lengthy been dogged by accusations of corruption. Mr. Abbas’s presidential time period technically led to 2009, however he has since canceled elections.
For a lot of Palestinians, Mr. Abbas’s push to raise his son exhibits that he has no intention of loosening his maintain on energy or of satisfying a public craving for brand new management.
“We’re coping with the rule of a person,” mentioned Hani al-Masri, a Palestinian political analyst, referring to Mr. Abbas. “He’s answerable for all the things.”
Yasser Abbas declined to be interviewed and didn’t reply to written questions.
Mahmoud Abbas’s workplace additionally didn’t reply to a request for remark. He has lengthy vowed to struggle corruption within the Palestinian political system, and criticized those that demand he take motion whereas failing to offer particular allegations.
His push to advance his household’s pursuits, regardless of resistance from inside his get together and the general public, additionally comes because the Palestinian Authority faces rising worldwide strain to hold out important political reforms.
Trump administration officers have mentioned that the authority can play a significant position in postwar Gaza provided that the governing physique can perform a program of reforms. Supporters of building a Palestinian state imagine Gaza must be part of it.
On Thursday, Fatah met to elect a brand new Central Committee, the get together’s prime management physique. Yasser Abbas, 64, has been urgent members for a seat on the committee, the officers mentioned, including that with out his father’s help, he would have little prospect of securing it.
In the beginning of the get together congress, Mahmoud Abbas delivered a speech during which he mentioned Fatah has been the “spine” of the Palestinian nationwide challenge, and spoke in regards to the immense destruction in Gaza and “settlers’ terrorism” within the West Financial institution.
Mr. Abbas additionally mentioned plans to carry legislative and presidential elections for the Palestinian Authority, which haven’t occurred in 20 years, with out providing a transparent timetable. “This matter affirms our agency dedication to the democratic course of and political pluralism,” he mentioned. He was later re-elected as Fatah’s chairman, in accordance with Wafa, the information company run by the Palestinian Authority.
Over the previous yr, the youthful Mr. Abbas has taken on a extra public-facing position in Palestinian officialdom, serving as an envoy to Lebanon. One in every of his primary duties there was to facilitate the disarmament of Palestinian factions in refugee camps, with restricted success, the officers mentioned.
Indicators of Yasser Abbas’s political ambitions have turn into obvious in current weeks as he has visited the headquarters of multiple Palestinian security agencies in Ramallah, assembly with prime generals and officers.
Throughout these visits, the youthful Mr. Abbas donned darkish inexperienced outfits that bore a resemblance to the navy fatigues worn by Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian chief who died in 2004. Yasser Abbas additionally goes by the identical nickname that Mr. Arafat used, Abu Ammar.
He has additionally accompanied his father on abroad journeys, showing in photographs with presidents and international officers.
His presence in high-level conferences has sometimes irked some international officers, together with within the Biden administration.
“We conveyed by way of official P.A. channels that it wasn’t seemly for Abbas’s son to be showing in official delegations,” mentioned Barbara Leaf, a former assistant secretary of state overseeing Center East coverage. She mentioned Yasser Abbas attended a gathering in Ramallah between Mahmoud Abbas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken within the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
Some senior Fatah officers have privately expressed opposition to Yasser Abbas’s becoming a member of the Central Committee, however they’ve kept away from taking a public stand towards him, fearing retribution from the elder Mr. Abbas, two of the Palestinian officers mentioned.
So long as he maintains his father’s help, Yasser Abbas will simply be elected to the committee on the Fatah Normal Congress, they mentioned. Additionally they mentioned they believed Mr. Abbas was fascinated by a robust position within the Palestinian Authority, although it was unclear whether or not he was vying to turn into its president.
Till now, Hussein al-Sheikh, the deputy of Mahmoud Abbas, has been considered greatest positioned to take over because the authority’s prime chief.
Many Palestinians have expressed concern that Yasser Abbas and Mr. al-Sheikh would signify a continuation of the established order, which gives them little hope for a revitalized, extra democratic Palestinian Authority and an finish to the Israeli occupation of the West Financial institution. The authority has struggled to reply successfully to escalating violence by Israeli settlers towards Palestinians, but it surely has labored intently with Israeli safety forces to crush Hamas militant exercise.
Alaa, a resident of Hebron within the southern West Financial institution, in his 30s, mentioned if it was true that Mr. Abbas was elevating his son right into a senior place, it could affirm a widespread feeling that he was abandoning the pursuits of Palestinians.
“There’s no justice on this land,” mentioned Alaa, who requested for under his first identify for use, fearing retribution from the authorities. “We’re residing between a corrupt Palestinian authorities and a harsh Israeli occupation,” he added.
“There’s little hope with our leaders,” he mentioned. “It seems like all the things results in a lifeless finish.”
Analysts mentioned that Mahmoud Abbas, by helping his son’s rise, can be lacking a chance to unite a divided Fatah, undermining the primary Palestinian political different to Hamas.
“It’s very problematic,” mentioned Ghaith al-Omari, a former adviser to Mahmoud Abbas and a senior fellow on the Washington Institute for Close to East Coverage, a analysis group. “Fatah must rebrand itself, however bringing Yasser on the Central Committee achieves the precise reverse of that.”
