Mahmoud Abbas, the 90-year-old Palestinian Authority president who has held office since 2005 without facing voters, faces mounting internal pressure over leadership continuity. In October 2025 he issued a decree designating PLO deputy Hussein al-Sheikh as interim successor for up to 90 days should a vacancy occur, with elections required thereafter. Recent moves by Abbas’s son Yasser to seek a seat on Fatah’s Central Committee at the party’s first congress in nearly a decade, scheduled for mid-May 2026, have revived speculation about dynastic influence and potential shifts in succession dynamics. These developments, alongside the Palestinian Authority’s prolonged political stagnation and absence of national elections, keep trader focus on timing risks tied to health developments, party infighting, and any sudden vacancy.