Prior to Abbas bing taken to a hospital in Ramallah on Thursday, the Arab leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have each reportedly urged the aging dictator to name his successor in order to avoid chaos in the event of his inability to lead.

By i24news

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was taken to hospital in Ramallah on Thursday where he is undergoing cardiac testing after feeling unexpectedly unwell.

Nasser al-Kidwa & Mahmoud Abbas

A hospital official told the Associated Press that Abbas would undergo a cardiac catheterization, a procedure in which a thin tube is inserted into a blood vessel in order to examines heart strength.

Abbas, 81, was at the government headquarters in Ramallah when he felt “tired” and was taken immediately to hospital for testing.

Palestinian media reports, however, initially indicated that the visit may have been pre-scheduled.

Abbas has held the Palestinian presidency since 2005. The Palestinians have not held a presidential election since then, and Abbas has remained in office despite the expiry of his term.

Arab leaders have reportedly urged the ageing Abbas to name a successor in order to avoid internal chaos in the event of his resignation or inability to lead.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II have both spoken personally to Abbas on the matter, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates [aka the ‘Arab Quartet’ – IsraelandStuff] also sent representatives to address the issue, Israel’s Channel 2 News reported Wednesday.

Nasser al-Kidwa, a nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has reportedly been tapped as next to lead the Palestinian Authority, according to the report.

Kidwa, 63, is the son of Araftat’s sister. He is a member of the Ramallah-based Fatah party and has served as Palestinian foreign minister and was also a former deputy UN-Arab League envoy to Syria. He also heads the Yasser Arafat Foundation, established after his uncle’s death in 2004.

Former Fatah strongman Mohammad Dahlan, who has often been rumored to be next in line to succeed his political rival Abbas, will not take over the Palestinian Authority, according to the report.

At one time Dahlan was one of Fatah’s most prominent figures, but he was expelled from the party in 2011 over allegations of corruption and murder. He now lives in the United Arab Emirates.

Composit photo of Mohammed Dahlan (right) and Mahmoud Abbas (left)

The Palestinians have not held a presidential election since 2005 and Abbas has remained in office despite the expiry of his term.

The Palestinian Authority decided on Tuesday to indefinitely suspend municipal polls set to be held this month amid disputes between the rival Fatah and Gaza-based Hamas movements over candidate lists.

Fatah and Hamas have not contested an election since 2006 parliamentary polls, which Hamas won — sparking a conflict that led to near civil war in Gaza the following year.

The Palestinian High Court had ruled that the vote could go ahead in the West Bank without the participation of the Gaza Strip, but the Palestinian Authority’s Central Election Committee (CEC) urged the PA to suspend the polls in order to come to a solution that would permit for Gaza’s participation.

“In the current environment, it is impossible to hold a vote and to remove Gaza from the equation,” the CEC said.

Despite repeated reconciliation attempts, Hamas and Fatah have failed to bridge their differences and form a unified administration for the Palestinian territories.

(Staff with agencies)

View original i24news publication at:
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/127115-161006-nephew-of-late-palestinian-leader-arafat-tapped-to-succeed-ageing-abbas-report