Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority (PA), published a 'constitutional declaration' on Wednesday stating that Rawhi Fattouh, chairman of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), will assume the position of interim President "if the position becomes vacant."
In the declaration, Abbas stipulated that if his position became vacant and the Legislative Council were "dysfunctional," then Fattouh would assume the position of interim President for a period of no more than 90 days while elections were held.
Abbas specified that if elections could not be held, the Palestinian Central Council (PCC) could choose to extend his term for another 90 days, but no longer. The PCC serves as one of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's (PLO) policy-making bodies along with the PNC; Fattouh is chairman of both the PCC and PNC.
Fattouh previously served as interim President following the death of Yasser Arafat in 2004; he held the post from November 2004 until January, when elections were held.
In 2022, Haaretz analyst Jack Khoury said Fattouh was seen as "dull and lacking political influence or ability to actually rule" while considering possible successors to Abbas.
Who is Rawhi Fattouh?
Rawhi Fattouh was born in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in 1949.
He joined Al-Asifah, Fatah's armed wing, which was later renamed the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, in 1968. After this, he was sent for military training in Iraq before returning to Jordan to finish high school in 1970. He graduated from Damascus University in 1979 with a BA in English.
Throughout his time as a student, he held various positions in the General Union of Palestine Students and in Fatah.
Fattouh has been consistently elected to positions in the PLO and PA since 1983, when he was first elected to the PNC.
A close ally of Abbas, he has been an important member of Fatah, leading the party's parliamentary bloc for decades.
After supporting Abbas's bid for the PA Presidency in 2006, Fattouh was rewarded with the position of personal representative of the President, which analysts at the time said signaled his position as successor.