Abu Mazen's decision to appoint senior Fatah official Rawhi Fattouh as his successor is tied to behind-the-scenes power struggles not only for Abu Mazen's succession but perhaps primarily over who will control Gaza's future reconstruction funds.

The Arab world, and parallel to it the Palestinian Authority, is divided into two leading camps—the UAE and Saudi Arabia on one side, and Hamas and Qatar on the other. Among Palestinians, this division is manifested in the Dahlan camp, which is connected to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, while Rajoub is linked to Hamas and Qatar.

Questions remain about those previously identified as Abu Mazen's potential successors, including Hussein al-Sheikh, Chairman of the PLO Central Committee, and Majed Faraj, the strongman of the Palestinian security apparatus. Where do their loyalties lie? With Abu Mazen and Qatar, or with Dahlan and the UAE?

Abu Mazen cannot accept Dahlan under any circumstances, which draws him closer to the Qatar bloc, if one can call it that. Qatar has already announced its ambitions regarding Gaza's reconstruction, and it has an advantage over the Saudi-UAE bloc, as Israel has blocked the Rafah crossing, their gateway to Gaza, while Qatar's entry point is through Tel Aviv.

These dynamics were evident at the recent Davos conference in Riyadh about two months ago. Abu Mazen arrived with Hussein al-Sheikh but noticed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE wanted to meet with al-Sheikh while avoiding meetings with Abu Mazen himself. They signalled to Abu Mazen whom they preferred, and he marked al-Sheikh as someone he doesn't trust.

Fattouh was among the senior Fatah officials who worked to remove Fayyad from his position as prime minister, who is a member of Dahlan's group. In doing so, Fattouh positioned himself in opposition to Dahlan.

Fattouh is from Gaza, and his main connections are there. In the West Bank, he's an outsider with no support base. Once al-Sheikh and Faraj, who are deeply rooted in the West Bank, decide to fight for their positions, problems will arise.

By appointing Fattouh, Abu Mazen is signalling that he's moving toward an alliance with Hamas under Qatar and Turkey's patronage to secure reconstruction projects.

As long as Israel maintains close ties with Qatar, Abu Mazen's plans may well come to fruition.