Yasser Abbas Elected to Fatah Central Committee at Leadership Congress

The son of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has secured a senior position within the Fatah movement as it concluded its first leadership congress in nearly a decade. Yasser Abbas, a 64-year-old businessman, was elected to the movement's Central Committee, its highest decision-making body, during the three-day gathering held across Ramallah, Gaza, Cairo, and Beirut.

President Mahmoud Abbas, 90, was re-elected as the movement's chairman. In his first remarks following his election to the committee, Yasser Abbas stated his priorities would be "Gaza first, prisoners and the families of martyrs, and the refugee camps." He added that Fatah would work to return Gaza to the fold of what he termed Palestinian legitimacy.

The congress, which saw a 94.6 percent turnout from eligible delegates, also re-elected prominent jailed leader Marwan Barghouti to the Central Committee with the highest number of votes. Other figures retaining or gaining seats included Jibril Rajoub, who was re-elected as the committee's secretary-general, Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh, and former militant commander Zakaria Zubeidi, who was freed in a 2025 prisoner exchange.