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Source: https://jcfa.org/the-founding-of-the-house-of-abbas-palestinian-royal-family/
The "House of Abbas" Palestinian Royal Family
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch - Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is seeking to establish the "House of Abbas." Elected in 2005 for a four-year term, Abbas has no intention of leaving his position until his death. He has been introducing a new figure into the Palestinian leadership arena - his son, Yasser Abbas, who has become a multi-millionaire in the PA. In 2023, Yasser participated in a PA delegation for talks with Saudi leadership. In 2025, Yasser was part of a PA delegation that met with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. The Palestinian news agency WAFA described him as his father's "special representative." More recently, Yasser has been meeting with the different heads of the PA security forces. The meetings were part of a wider political strategy to help Yasser win a senior position in Fatah's Central Committee, where elections are scheduled for May 14-16, the first time in almost a decade. Whether Abbas manages to install Yasser into a senior position or not, the reality is that the PA remains devoid of any democratic culture. Palestinian leaders, whoever they may be, have no intention of releasing their stranglehold on the PA's multi-billion-dollar purse strings. Each knows that inheriting the leadership mantle is a guarantee for them and their family members to enjoy immense riches and luxury, all at the expense of the Palestinian people. The attempt by Abbas to establish a new Middle Eastern royal family, the House of Abbas, in which the role of Palestinian leadership is passed from father to son, should raise every red flag imaginable. A step in this direction would be a clear indication that neither Abbas nor any of his replacements is at all serious about PA reform. The writer, former director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria, is director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center.