Mahmoud Abbas’s newly anointed deputy to make first diplomatic visit to Saudi Arabia
Aiming to boost his standing among Palestinians and abroad, Hussein al-Sheikh will meet next week with top Saudi officials in preparation for Trump’s high-stakes trip to the region
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s newly appointed deputy, Hussein al-Sheikh, will make his first diplomatic trip to Saudi Arabia next week, an Arab official and a Palestinian official told The Times of Israel on Monday.
Al-Sheikh’s choice of Saudi Arabia demonstrates a recognition of the key role Riyadh can play in the PA’s effort to return to relevance on the international stage, where it has been overshadowed by Hamas after the terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.
In his meetings with senior Saudi officials, Al-Sheikh plans to discuss ways to boost Saudi-Palestinian ties along with preparations for US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region the following week, the two officials said.
Trump will be making his first visit to the region since returning to the White House the week after al-Sheikh’s trip to Riyadh. Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. There is currently no plan to visit Israel as well.
The trip is increasingly being seen as a watershed moment by which Trump is hoping to announce breakthroughs in efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza — a prerequisite for a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal that he is seeking to broker — along with a new agreement with Iran curbing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Saudi Arabia was quick to welcome al-Sheikh’s appointment on Saturday to serve as the vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) — a new position created by Abbas amid international pressure on the 89-year-old to lay the groundwork for a potential successor.
Al-Sheikh will still face an intense battle to the top, given that while the PLO is the body representing Palestinians worldwide, it’s not entirely synonymous with the PA, which administers parts of the West Bank and controls the Palestinian security forces there. Al-Sheikh is also not a particularly popular figure on the Palestinian street, but he is hoping that will change with the new appointment — which gives him a leg up on other potential successors within the PLO — and with support from international stakeholders like Saudi Arabia.
Al-Sheikh maintains relationships with key Israeli security and political officials, which he built while serving as the PA’s minister for civil affairs, which likely boosts his standing in the eyes of the US. He is also the most senior Palestinian official to have met with a top Trump official, having several times met with US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. The PA’s intelligence chief is slated to meet with CIA counterparts in Washington this week as well, a US official and a Palestinian official told The Times of Israel on Sunday.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to prevent the PA from gaining a foothold in Gaza, the premier is also seeking the assistance of Saudi Arabia and other Arab states in assisting with the postwar management of the Strip, and those states have conditioned such support on Israel granting a role for the PA. Moreover, Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman holds significant sway in Washington due to the massive investments he has pledged to make again to boost the US economy, potentially giving Riyadh’s crown prince more leverage than Netanyahu in convincing Trump on foreign policy.
Al-Sheikh’s office declined to comment on the record. The Saudi foreign ministry did not respond to queries on the matter.
Nurit Yohanan contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.