Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice president. It’s a major step by the aging leader to designate a successor. The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization does not guarantee he will be the next Palestinian

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday appointed a close aide as the first-ever vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

For many ordinary Palestinians, the appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh was emblematic of how out-of-touch the leadership of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority has become.