Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed Hussein al-Sheikh secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, PA official news agency Wafa reported Thursday.
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The position had been held for years by the late Saeb Erekat, who was also the PLO's chief negotiator in peace talks with Israel.
Al-Sheikh, the Palestinian Authority's civil affairs minister, is seen as a possible successor to Abbas.
A veteran of Abbas' Fatah movement, he has cultivated ties with foreign diplomats and with Israel, including by meeting with Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
Once the undisputed champion of the Palestinian cause, the PLO has lost much of its relevance since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1994.
Abbas is 87 years old and has seen support dive to historic lows in opinion polls, standing accused of autocracy in rare West Bank street protests last year.
Palestinians have not been to the ballot box for 16 years as Abbas scrapped elections scheduled for last year.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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