The results of Fatah’s 8th General Conference have intensified the succession struggle expected to erupt once PA President Mahmoud Abbas leaves the political stage, while also fueling accusations of attempts to establish a family-based leadership structure.
Fatah’s 8th Conference concluded on May 16 after three days of deliberations.
The results of the elections for the movement’s Central Committee, Fatah’s highest decision-making body, revealed surprising outcomes that further complicate the battle over succession in the event of Mahmoud Abbas’s death or medical incapacitation, according to senior security officials.
This was reflected in the fact that Hussein al-Sheikh, Abbas’s deputy and widely viewed as his most likely successor, finished only fourth in the internal elections.
Marwan Barghouti, who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison, secured first place, followed by Majed Faraj, the former head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, while Jibril Rajoub, Secretary-General of Fatah, came in third.
Yasser Abbas, the son of the Palestinian Authority president, placed eighth among the 18 elected members of the Central Committee.
Senior Fatah officials say that under the new political reality created by the elections, Hussein al-Sheikh will find it difficult to claim uncontested succession rights or position himself as Fatah’s leading candidate in future presidential elections after Mahmoud Abbas exits the political arena.
Instead, the Central Committee itself will likely be forced to determine who will represent the movement in any future presidential race.
At the same time, senior Fatah sources report growing tensions between Yasser Abbas and Hussein al-Sheikh, who fears that Mahmoud Abbas is quietly maneuvering behind the scenes to eventually install his son as successor.
The election results also led to the removal of three veteran Fatah figures from the Central Committee: Azzam al-Ahmad, Rawhi Fattouh, and Abbas Zaki.
In contrast, three prominent Palestinian security prisoners were elected to the committee: Marwan Barghouti, Zakaria Zubeidi, the former commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah’s military wing, and prisoner Taysir Bardini.
Also elected to the Central Committee were Leila Ghannam, Governor of the Ramallah and al-Bireh District, Mahmoud al-Aloul, Deputy Chairman of Fatah, and Tawfiq Tirawi, former head of Palestinian General Intelligence.
Senior figures within Fatah have sharply criticized the manner in which the conference was managed, describing it as a “rigged game.” They claim that Mahmoud Abbas is following the path of several Arab leaders by quietly working to position his son Yasser as his eventual successor.
According to these officials, Abbas treats Fatah as “his private enterprise,” and the election results reflect the movement’s deep transformation from a national liberation movement into a governing apparatus primarily concerned with preserving the power of the Abbas family.
They further argue that Fatah has lost its historic role as the leading force in the Palestinian national struggle and has instead become part of a weak and corrupt Palestinian Authority operating under the constraints of Israeli occupation.
Rather than focusing on national liberation or confronting Israeli occupation and settlement expansion, Fatah’s leadership is increasingly preoccupied with internal power struggles, including attempts to entrench dynastic leadership and manipulate internal elections.
