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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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Former Columbia University President Appointed as UK Economic Adviser
Columbia University administrators and faculty, led by President Minouche Shafik, testified before the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce on April 17, 2024. Photo: Jack Gruber/Reuters Connect
i24 News – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has named Minouche Shafik, former president of Columbia University, as his chief economic adviser at Downing Street, a move aimed at stabilizing the country’s fragile economy and averting a potential budget crisis.
Shafik, an economist of Egyptian origin with dual British and American nationality, has held senior roles at the Bank of England, the IMF, and the World Bank.
She later led the London School of Economics and was elevated to the House of Lords in 2020.
Her tenure in the United States was more turbulent. Shafik stepped down as president of Columbia University in 2024 after just a year in office, amid fierce criticism over her handling of pro-Palestinian protests following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.
US officials accused her of failing to confront antisemitism on campus, while students and faculty condemned her decision to call in police to dismantle protest encampments.
Since returning to Britain, Shafik has played an active role in policy and cultural institutions. She advised Foreign Secretary David Lammy on international aid reform, has chaired the Victoria & Albert Museum since January, and led the “Economy 2030” inquiry for the Resolution Foundation, where she argued for reforms to the UK’s system of wealth taxation.
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Israel Mulls West Bank Annexation in Response to Moves to Recognize Palestine
The Jordan Valley. Photo: Юкатан via Wikimedia Commons.
Israel is considering annexation in the West Bank as a possible response to France and other countries recognizing a Palestinian state, according to three Israeli officials and the idea will be discussed further on Sunday, another official said.
Extension of Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank – de facto annexation of land captured in the 1967 Middle East war – was on the agenda for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet meeting late on Sunday that is expected to focus on the Gaza war, a member of the small circle of ministers said.
It is unclear where precisely any such measure would be applied and when, whether only in Israeli settlements or some of them, or in specific areas of the West Bank like the Jordan Valley and whether any concrete steps, which would likely entail a lengthy legislative process, would follow discussions.
Any step toward annexation in the West Bank would likely draw widespread condemnation from the Palestinians, who seek the territory for a future state, as well as Arab and Western countries. It is unclear where US President Donald Trump stands on the matter. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar did not respond to a request for comment on whether Saar had discussed the move with his US counterpart Marco Rubio during his visit to Washington last week.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the prime minister supports annexation and if so, where.
A past pledge by Netanyahu to annex Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley was scrapped in 2020 in favor of normalizing ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the Abraham Accords brokered by Trump in his first term in office.
The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United States said on Friday it would not allow Abbas to travel to New York for the United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognize Palestine as a state.
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Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Israeli forces pounded the suburbs of Gaza City overnight from the air and ground, destroying homes and driving more families out of the area as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet was set on Sunday to discuss a plan to seize the city.
Residents of Sheikh Radwan, one of the largest neighborhoods of Gaza City, said the territory had been under Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes throughout Saturday and on Sunday, forcing families to seek shelter in the western parts of the city.
The Israeli military has gradually escalated its operations around Gaza City over the past three weeks, and on Friday it ended temporary pauses in the area that had allowed for aid deliveries, designating it a “dangerous combat zone.”
“They are crawling into the heart of the city where hundreds of thousands are sheltering, from the east, north, and south, while bombing those areas from the air and ground to scare people to leave,” said Rezik Salah, a father of two, from Sheikh Radwan.
An Israeli official said Netanyahu’s security cabinet will convene on Sunday evening to discuss the next stages of the planned offensive to seize Gaza City, which he has described as Hamas’ last bastion.
A full-scale offensive is not expected to start for weeks. Israel says it wants to evacuate the civilian population before moving more ground forces in.
HAMAS SPOKESPERSON TARGETED
Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israeli forces had targeted Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson of Hamas’ armed wing. Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Abu Ubaida was killed. Two Hamas officials contacted by Reuters did not respond to requests for comment.
Gaza health authorities said 15 people, including five children, were killed in the attack on a residential building in the heart of Gaza City.
Abu Ubaida, also known as Hozayfa Al-Khalout, is a well-known figure to Palestinians and Israelis alike, close to Hamas’ top military leaders and in charge of delivering the group’s messages, often via video, for around two decades, delivering statements while wearing a red keffiyeh that concealed his face.
The US targeted him with sanctions in April 2024, accusing him of leading the “cyber influence department” of al-Qassam Brigades.
In his last statement on Friday, he warned that the planned Israeli offensive on Gaza City would endanger the hostages.
On Saturday, Red Cross head Mirjana Spoljaric said an evacuation from the city would provoke a massive population displacement that no other area in the enclave is equipped to absorb, with shortages of food, shelter and medical supplies.
“People who have relatives in the south left to stay with them. Others, including myself, didn’t find a space as Deir Al-Balah and Mawasi are overcrowded,” said Ghada, a mother of five from the city’s Sabra neighborhood.
Around half of the enclave’s more than 2 million people are presently in Gaza City. Several thousand were estimated to have left the city for central and southern areas of the enclave.
Israel’s military has warned its political leaders that the offensive is endangering hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza. Protests in Israel calling for an end to the war and the release of the hostages have intensified in the past few weeks.