Abbas: The Sheikh temporarily heads the Palestinian Authority in case of a vacancy in the position.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (89 years old) issued a constitutional declaration on Sunday stating that his deputy, Hussein al-Sheikh, will temporarily assume the duties of the presidency of the National Authority in the event of a vacancy in the position.

The declaration, according to the Palestinian news agency (Wafa), stipulates that "if the position of President of the Palestinian National Authority becomes vacant, in the absence of the Legislative Council, the Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Deputy President of the State of Palestine (Hussein al-Sheikh), shall temporarily assume the duties of the presidency of the National Authority for a period not exceeding ninety days, during which free and direct elections will be held to elect a new president, in accordance with Palestinian election law."

It also states that "if it is impossible to conduct the elections during that period due to a force majeure, that period may be extended by a decision of the Palestinian Central Council for another period, and only once."

According to the constitutional declaration, constitutional declaration number 1 of 2024 is canceled, "in order to preserve the national interest of our Palestinian people," according to the agency.

This declaration stipulated that the President of the Palestinian National Council would assume the presidency in the event of a vacancy in the position.

The agency quoted Abbas as saying that "the issuance of the constitutional declaration comes as a confirmation of the principle of separation of powers and the peaceful transfer of power through free and fair elections."

Abbas has been in office for 20 years, specifically since January 15, 2005, following the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in November 2004.