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Who Is the Palestinian Authority’s New ‘Moderate’ Vice President?
Hussein al-Sheikh in an interview with TML News. Photo: Screenshot.
Hussein Al-Sheikh is often portrayed as a moderate by the international community, and he was appointed last weekend by Mahmoud Abbas as the new vice president of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has long been reporting how Al-Sheikh’s statements and activities reveal support for terrorism, glorification of terrorists, promotion of terrorism through Pay-for-Slay, and support for unity with Hamas, even after October 7, 2023.
PMW Director Itamar Marcus elaborated further on this yesterday on ILTV Israel News.
Whether the appointment was an attempt by Abbas to name a successor, or just another attempt at portraying a “revitalized” PA, as demanded by the international community, Al-Sheikh, who was the secretary general of the PLO Executive Committee, reflects views and policies that are closely in line with the old PA leadership.
Support for Hamas
Al-Sheikh is committed to defending Hamas and portraying Israel as the true enemy. After proclaiming in November 2023 that “our arms are still open” to Hamas, Al-Sheikh in December 2023 denied ever saying that Hamas was “not a role model” and instead asserted that “the real terror is” Israel:
PLO Executive Committee Secretary Hussein Al-Sheikh: “I didn’t say that Hamas is not a role model…
When the world spoke and demanded that Hamas be defined as a terror movement – who set out against the world? Was it not Mahmoud Abbas, who stood at the UN podium and said: ‘No, Hamas is not a terror movement’? The real terror is the occupation [i.e., Israel]. The real terror is the settlement enterprise.”
[Former Head of Fatah Commission of Information and Culture’s Information Office Munir Al-Jaghoub, X (Twitter) account, Dec. 19, 2023]
Encouraging Armed Struggle Against Israel
Al-Sheikh has also called for all factions, including Fatah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, “to fight this enemy [Israel] on all fronts, in all arenas” — terms used by PA leaders to include terrorism and violence:
PLO Executive Committee Secretary Hussein Al-Sheikh: “[Fatah] called on all the Palestinian national action factions [i.e., Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad] to create a broad front against the Israeli aggression. It is no secret that there is a quiet and calm dialogue between us and Hamas.
I hope that this dialogue will succeed … You need to fight this enemy [Israel] on all fronts, in all arenas, without exception. You need to fight it on the ground and in the international organizations and authorities …
The central topic in all the leadership’s meetings is strengthening the Palestinian popular resistance against the occupation’s army and the settler herds … This strengthens the Palestinian negotiator and doesn’t weaken him. I said this before: Are we stopping anyone [from resisting]? Are we tying anyone’s hands?” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, Feb. 27, 2023]
Insistence on Rewarding Terrorists
Hussein Al-Sheikh is as insistent as Mahmoud Abbas about continuing the PA’s Pay-for-Slay program, and incentivizing terror attacks through financial rewards for terrorists and their families.
In fact, he has invoked the same line used by Abbas that “even if we are left with one penny, it will be paid to the families of the Martyrs and the prisoners”:
In the speech he gave … on behalf of Fatah, PLO Executive Committee Secretary and Fatah Central Committee member Hussein Al-Sheikh emphasized the leadership’s permanent and firm commitment, according to which our Martyrs, our prisoners, and their families are a red line — ‘Even if we are left with one penny, it will be paid to the families of the Martyrs and the prisoners.’” [emphasis added]
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 8, 2023]
Personal glorification of terrorists
Al-Sheikh also has a history of honoring terrorist murderers. He met with terrorist murderer Karim Younes upon his release from prison. Al-Sheikh also mourned terrorist Walid Daqqa, who died of cancer while serving a life sentence for taking part in the kidnapping and brutal murder of Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in 1984.
Al-Sheikh described Daqqa as a “freedom-fighter,” and lauded his “legacy of struggle and sacrifice” as an inspiration for future generations:
Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Hussein Al-Sheikh mourned today freedom-fighter Walid Daqqa, who died in an Israeli prison today, after being exposed to the crime of medical negligence and the policy of deliberate slow death practiced by the Israeli Prison Service administration against Palestinian prisoners.
He stressed that Israel ignores all international conventions, agreements, and human rights regarding prisoners, emphasizing in particular that it deprives them of their right to receive treatment. He considered it a full-fledged crime compounding the series of crimes of the Israeli occupation. He added that Daqqa left behind a legacy of struggle and sacrifice that will serve as a source of inspiration for future generations.
[WAFA, official PA news agency, English edition, April 7, 2024]
Hussein Al-Sheikh is far from a moderate, and is not reflective of any sort of meaningful change within the Palestinian Authority, neither substantive nor even structural.
On the contrary, he embodies the PA leadership’s ongoing commitment to terrorism and demonization of Israel, even while engaging with international bodies under the pretense of diplomacy.
Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Who Is the Palestinian Authority’s New ‘Moderate’ Vice President? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.