The Palestinian leadership approved the creation of the position of vice president of Mahmoud Abbas, and possibly his successor, on Thursday, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Reuters/Mohammed Torokman
The Palestinian leadership approved the creation of the position of vice president of Mahmoud Abbas, and possibly his successor, on Thursday, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.
A statement published by state news agency WAFA said 170 members of the Palestinian Central Council, the Palestinians' highest decision-making body, voted in favour of the decision, while one member voted against it and another abstained.
They have not immediately appointed someone to the role. According to the statement, Abbas has the right to assign tasks to the deputy, relieve him of his post, or accept his resignation.
Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but has for years resisted internal reforms, including the naming of a successor.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority exercises limited rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has not governed Gaza since fighting a civil war with Hamas in 2007.
Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi
Ankara rejected on Wednesday what it called the "prejudiced and unfair" stance of the European Union towards fundamental rights and the judiciary in Turkey, and regarding Cyprus, contained in the bloc's report on EU membership candidates.
Turkey's parliament is set on Wednesday to ratify a defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that includes a collective defence clause, committing NATO's second-largest army to Riyadh's defence as it faces attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
Hezbollah on Wednesday rejected accusations that it had dispatched experts to Yemen to fight alongside the Houthis in their war against the internationally recognised government and Saudi Arabia.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.