Speculation is growing within Palestinian political circles over the future leadership of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority amid increasing political activity by Yasser Abbas, the son of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
According to informed sources, Yasser Abbas, a businessman aged 64, is expected to seek a seat on Fatah’s 18-member Central Committee during the movement’s upcoming conference in Ramallah, scheduled for 14th–16th May. The gathering will be the first such conference held in nearly a decade.
The developments come as questions continue over succession within the Palestinian leadership, with no clear successor emerging to the 90-year-old Abbas amid prolonged political stagnation and weakening institutional structures.
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Yasser Abbas oversees business interests in sectors including tobacco and construction in the occupied West Bank. He and his brother, Tareq Abbas, have faced accusations from political opponents regarding the misuse of influence, allegations they deny.
Sources cited by Reuters said Yasser Abbas has recently held meetings with Palestinian security officials and representatives linked to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, groups seen as influential within Fatah.
He has also accompanied his father during international meetings, including visits to Moscow where meetings took place with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
According to the report, he has additionally been assigned responsibilities connected to Palestine Liberation Organization affairs in Lebanon.
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