As Abbas’s health fails, a battle for his seat looms

“ABU MAZEN WILL live to 120 and bury us all,” joked a senior Israeli officer not long ago, referring to the Palestinian president’s longevity.

But recent hospitalisations of Mahmoud Abbas have once again raised the prospect of a succession battle among the Palestinians.

While Mr Abbas’s staff have tried to project an upbeat image, with footage of him walking around the hospital in Ramallah in a dressing gown, reading a newspaper, his latest illness is rumoured to be his most serious yet.

Thirteen years since he was elected president — no election has been held since — the 82-year-old Mr Abbas is not showing any inclination to name a successor or announce his retirement.

Many assume that, should he leave office before a successor is chosen, the PA and Fatah will be led for an interim period by a group of veterans that would include Mahmoud al-Aloul, Fatah’s deputy chief; Majid Faraj, the commander of intelligence in the West Bank; and the former security chief Jibril Rajoub, who remains influential.

Any of these three could eventually become leader in place of Mr Abbas, but there are other likely contenders.

They include Fatah chieftain Marwan Barghouti, currently serving multiple life sentences for directing the murder of Israeli civilians in the Second Intifada, and the exiled Mahmoud Dahlan, Fatah’s former security chief in Gaza, who long ago fell foul of Mr Abbas, but is thought to have the backing of Egypt and Gulf leaders.