Yasser Abbas, the son of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, has secured a seat on Fatah's highest leadership body, the Central Committee, following the movement's first congress in the occupied West Bank in a decade.

The three-day Eighth General Conference in Ramallah, held from Thursday to Sunday, came as Fatah faces existential challenges amid Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.

Yasser Abbas, 64, a businessman who spends most of his time in Canada, was appointed as his father's “special representative” around five years ago.

The outcome drew criticism as several incumbents retained their seats. Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader imprisoned by Israel since 2002, retained his seat with the highest number of votes, according to AFP.

Jibril Rajoub was re-elected as the committee's secretary-general, while Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh kept his position. Organizers reported 2,507 voters and a 94.6% turnout.

Fifty-nine candidates competed for 18 Central Committee seats, while 450 vied for 80 seats on the Revolutionary Council. Counting for the council continues.

Mahmoud Abbas, re-elected as Fatah leader on Thursday, vowed in his opening address to reform the Palestinian Authority (PA) and hold long-delayed presidential and parliamentary elections.

Abbas and the PA face mounting international pressure for reforms and elections amid widespread accusations of corruption and political stagnation. US President Donald Trump has demanded sweeping reforms as a condition for the PA's role in post-war Gaza.

Fatah, historically dominant within the PLO, has seen its influence wane due to internal divisions and the stalled peace process, boosting rival Hamas.

Yasser Abbas's election does not put him on a clear path to the presidency, said Ali Jarbawi, a political science professor at Birzeit University. “This may be seen as the beginning of a phase – if not of hereditary succession, then of securing a position in the future.”

Source: www.aljazeera.com