The Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Executive Committee elected Fatah's Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh as deputy to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Al-Sheikh, who is considered close to Abbas, previously served a prison sentence in Israel. Recordings of Al-Sheikh released in 2022 showed him complaining about Abbas and denigrating other potential contenders for the PA chairmanship. In 2023, al-Sheikh called on the ICC to expedite examining files regarding Israel's alleged crimes against Palestinian Arabs.