PLO’s Abbas appoints new secretary-general

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday appointed Saeb Erekat to the post of secretary-general of the PLO.

Erekat, who for the past two decades served as chief PLO negotiator, will replace Yasser Abed Rabbo, who was fired by Abbas last week.

The decision to appoint Erekat to the top PLO position improves his chances of succeeding Abbas.

Erekat and several Palestinian officials in Ramallah see themselves as potential candidates to succeed the PA president.

Abed Rabbo, a veteran PLO official and former Minister of Information, was fired after falling out with Abbas.

Palestinian sources claimed that Abed Rabbo had joined forces with former Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and ousted Fatah leader Mohamed Dahlan to undermine Abbas. The sources claimed that Abed Rabbo had recently visited the United Arab Emirates, where he held secret talks with Dahlan.

Dahlan has been living in the Gulf country ever since Abbas expelled him from Fatah four years ago. Abbas has accused Dahlan of conspiring against the PA leadership, murder and financial corruption – charges that have been strongly denied by the ousted Fatah leader.

Two weeks ago, the PA announced that it has seized the bank account of a non-profit group belonging to Fayyad in Ramallah. Sources close to Abbas accused Fayyad of money laundering and claimed that the former prime minister had received large sums of money from the United Arab Emirates, which is hosting Dahlan.

The sources also claimed that the three men – Fayyad, Dahlan and Abed Rabbo – had formed an alliance in a bid to undermine or topple the PA president.

All three have repeatedly denied the charges.

Abed Rabbo said last week that Abbas was not authorized to fire him from the PLO job. He said that he had learned of the decision to dismiss him through the media.

Abbas’s decision to appoint Erekat to the top job is seen by some Palestinians as a significant promotion for the chief negotiator. They see it as an indication of Abbas’s full confidence in Erekat and that he even considers him fit to serve as the next PA president.