Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice president. It�s a major step by the aging leader to designate a successor.

The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization does not guarantee he will be the next Palestinian president. But it makes him the front-runner among longtime politicians in the dominant Fatah party who hope to succeed the 89-year-old Abbas.

The move is unlikely to boost the image among many Palestinians of Fatah as a closed and corrupt movement out of touch with the general public.

Abbas hopes to play a major role in postwar Gaza. He has been under pressure from Western and Arab allies to rehabilitate the Palestinian Authority. He has announced a series of reforms in recent months, and last week his Fatah movement approved the new position of PLO vice president.

Under last week�s decision, the new vice president, coming from the PLO�s 16-member executive committee, would succeed Abbas in a caretaker capacity if the president dies or becomes incapacitated.

That would make him the front-runner to replace Abbas on a permanent basis, though not guarantee it. The PLO�s executive committee would need to approve that appointment, and the body is filled with veteran politicians who see themselves as worthy contenders.

The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, would have a separate caretaker leader, Rawhi Fattouh, the speaker of the Palestinians� non-functioning parliament. But within 90 days, it would have to hold elections. If that is not possible, the new PLO president would likely take over the position.

Al-Sheikh, 64, is a veteran politician who has held a series of top positions over decades, most recently as the secretary-general of the PLO�s executive committee for the past three years. He spent 11 years in Israeli prisons in his youth and is a veteran of the Palestinian security forces � experiences that could give him credibility with Palestinian security figures and the broader public.

Now he finds himself in a strong position to shore up his power.

He is Abbas� closest aide and, most critically, maintains good working relations with Israel and the Palestinians� Arab allies, including wealthy Gulf countries. As Abbas� point man with Israel, al-Sheikh is responsible for arranging coveted travel permits for Palestinians, including VIP leaders, giving him an important lever of power over his rivals.

The PLO is a rival for Hamas, which won the last national elections in 2006 and is not in the PLO. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas� forces in 2007, and reconciliation attempts have repeatedly failed.

Abbas is still seen internationally as the leader of the Palestinians. The chain-smoking political veteran has clung to power since his mandate expired in 2009.

(AP & YWN Israel Desk � Jerusalem)

(YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)