RAMALLAH, West Bank – Hussein al-Sheikh has spent years overseeing fraught day-to-day relations between Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Israeli military – a role that has made him unpopular with the public, but brought him close to the public . the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas.
In May, Palestinian Authority President Abbas appointed Mr al-Sheikh to one of the top posts in his political movement.
Although Mr Abbas is 87, he has never designated an heir to head the Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the West Bank and the 2.7 million Palestinians living there. The sudden rise of Mr al-Sheikh has led analysts and diplomats to question whether he is being groomed as his successor.
At the same time, Mr al-Sheikh, who recently gathered for a rare interview with The New York Times, has become the focus of a debate among Palestinians about the vision and legitimacy of their leaders.
His quick promotions, his regular interaction with Israeli officials and his wealth – his family owns a lucrative real estate and trading company – have made Mr al-Sheikh a target of Palestinian criticism. A meme circulating on social media showed an edited photo of his face atop the body of an Israeli general.
The caption in Arabic read: “Spokesperson for the Occupation.”
Opinion polls suggest that Mr al-Sheikh would compete hugely to win an election. Only 3 percent of Palestinians want him to be their next leader, according to the most recent. Another suggested that almost three quarters of Palestinians opposed his promotion in May to the second position in the Palestine Liberation Organization, the group that nominally oversees the Palestinian Authority.
But for his supporters, Mr al-Sheikh is the right man for a difficult moment – a pragmatist who can improve the daily lives of Palestinians in an era when the greater goal of an independent state seems as distant as ever. He said in the interview that he does not think Israel is serious about ending the occupation, so the Palestinians have no choice but to continue working within the current arrangement.
Ending relations with Israel or dissolving the Palestinian Authority could end in a security vacuum that would leave Palestinians even worse off than they are today, he said, speaking from his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“If I were to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, what would be the alternative?” said Mr al-Sheikh. “The alternative is violence and chaos and bloodshed,” he added. “I know the consequences of that decision. I know the Palestinians would pay the price.”
His office works with Israel, among other things, to process Palestinian applications for Israeli work permits and to coordinate the transit of goods between the West Bank, Gaza, Israel and Jordan. Both things provide much-needed income for residents of the West Bank.
Although he was appointed to his new position, not elected, Mr. al-Sheikh that his background and track record give him the legitimacy to lead.
He was born in Ramallah in 1960 when Jordan controlled the West Bank. His family, who came from a village near Tel Aviv, was among some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes during the wars surrounding Israel’s founding in 1948 — a mass displacement that Palestinians have left behind. nakbaor catastrophe.
He was 6 when Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East War. As a teenager, he joined Fatah, the leading Palestinian militant group at the time. As a result, he spent much of the 1980s in Israeli prisons, which gave him credibility on the streets.
After the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in the 1990s, he became a colonel in the newly formed Palestinian security forces in the hope that the Palestinians were on the brink of becoming a state.
“You are talking to someone whose whole history is about the struggle of the Palestinian people,” said Mr al-Sheikh. “I know exactly how to guide my people on the right path.”
In 2007, he was appointed as the main Palestinian liaison with the Israeli army. A year later, he joined the leadership council of Fatah, the faction representing the Palestinian Authority and the PLO. dominates
Over the next decade, as the Palestinian quest for independence faltered, Mr. al-Sheikh developed a close relationship with Mr. Abbas and often accompanied him in meetings with foreign leaders.
Mohammed Daraghmeh, a veteran Palestinian journalist, said Mr. al-Sheikh right now is the only feasible one: recognize that there is no immediate chance for a Palestinian state, and do what he can to prevent worse.
“What else can he do in these circumstances?” said Mr Daraghmeh. “The Palestinians are weak and divided, the Israelis give them nothing, the world does not help.”
Many Palestinians appreciate at least something of what he does.
a June opinion poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Palestinians supported recent confidence-building measures between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, coordinated in part by Mr al-Sheikh.
He has been praised by both Israeli and US officials, said Daniel B. Shapiro, a former US ambassador to Israel and a fellow at the Atlantic Council, a US research group.
“He’s a serious person and someone that US officials have been able to work with,” said Mr. Shapiro. “Israeli officials have found the same thing.”
But it is precisely for this reason that some Palestinians dislike him, arguing that their West Bank institutions have become as much a subcontractor to the occupying power as a movement for national self-determination. Palestinian security services are quietly helping Israeli intelligence to target Palestinians accused of militant activity.
To rivals, Mr al-Sheikh’s elevation—without public discussion and by presidential decree—embodies this democratic deficit in Palestinian politics.
“He was not elected,” said Samer Sinijlawi, leader of a rebel group within Fatah. “His only source of power is Abbas. He will disappear once Abbas leaves.”
Long-standing divisions among Palestinians have prevented a united pursuit of independence, pushing the prospects of an independent state to the lowest level in decades.
Peace negotiations with Israel retired in 2014. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are more anchored than ever. There is little US pressure on Israel to break the deadlock, and solidarity from other Arab leaders has waned, especially after three Arab countries sealed diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020.
But many Palestinians feel that their own leadership remains one of the biggest obstacles. A opinion poll asked Palestinians in June what they considered to be their most pressing problem: a quarter said they did the corruption of the Palestinian Authority.
Without a functional parliament, Mr. Abbas laws and makes appointments by decree – including Mr. al-Sheikh.
Last September, 14 Palestinian police officers were… charged beating to death an anti-corruption activist, Nizar Banat, who was detained after he posted online criticism of the Palestinian Authority.
“It’s a dictatorship,” said Nasser al-Kidwa, a former Palestinian foreign minister who… broke up with mister Abbas last year and now lives in exile. “It’s a situation so miserable that we haven’t seen it since the nakba.”
King Abdulrahim contributed reporting from Ramallah, West Bank, and Error Yazbek from Jerusalem.