The final weeks of 2015 were rife with rumors of the impending collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA): so dire that the Israeli cabinet took the issue up for discussion on January 4. PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ political behavior had grown more erratic in the preceding months. Poorly executed gambits led to a series of political setbacks, resulting in him having to walk back attempts to undermine some of his political opponents, and — most notably — failing to convene the Palestinian National Council (PNC) in summer 2015.

Sensing a weakening of Abbas’ hold on power, and a wider risk to Palestinian national institutions, Palestinian leaders from within his own camp who have been until then reluctant to openly challenge him have been increasingly public in their criticism of his domestic and foreign policies. On January 2, Jibril Rajoub, deputy secretary-general of the powerful Fatah Central Committee and a former security chief with a strong base in the West Bank, launched an unprecedented attack on Abbas’ policies during a live broadcast on Palestine TV marking the anniversary of the ruling Fatah movement. Meanwhile, the streets continue to seethe in an ongoing wave of attacks by largely unaffiliated young Palestinians against Israelis, which are seen as both a sign of anger and despair against Israel and a challenge to the PA’s control over its public.

On January 6, sensing the mounting pressure, Abbas, who was in Bethlehem to mark the Orthodox Christmas, unexpectedly announced that he would give a televised address to his people later in the day. Almost immediately, rumors swirled that Abbas was going to announce a vice president, one that would most likely be his anointed successor. These rumors did not originate in a vacuum. Abbas himself was said to have considered creating the post of Fatah deputy leader in previous Fatah meetings. Senior Fatah leaders, such as Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi, have called for Abbas to designate a deputy. Even in Washington think tank circles floated the idea.

While the idea of creating the post of a PA vice president may be appealing as a solution to succession, the devil is in the details, some of which make it impractical if not impossible.

Read the article in full at the Washington Institute.