RAMALLAH: The millionaire businessman son of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to run for a steering role in Fatah, his 90-year-old father’s political party.
Yasser Abbas, 64, will seek to win one of the 18 seats on Fatah’s Central Committee that are being contested at a party conference in Ramallah from May 14-16, the first in 10 years.
The foray into politics has fueled speculation that the president may be seeking to position his son to succeed him as head of Fatah, which controls the Palestinian Authority.
Yasser Abbas runs tobacco and contracting companies in the occupied West Bank. He has held recent meetings with the Palestinian security establishment and groups representing prisoners held by Israel, an influential constituency.
Others viewed as possible successors to Mahmoud Abbas include Hussein Al-Sheikh, his longtime confidant and vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization; and Marwan Barghouti, an intifada leader popular among Palestinians despite having been in an Israeli jail since 2002.
Senior Fatah official Sabri Saidam said party rules allowed any eligible member to run for the committee. “I hope to see a renewal in leadership and a renewal in the movement’s capabilities,” he said.
