Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas appointed a close aide as the first ever vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) on Saturday, according to a member of the organisation's executive committee.

"Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas appointed Hussein al-Sheikh as a deputy (vice president) of the PLO leadership," Wasel Abu Yousef said, in a move that positions Sheikh as a potential successor to veteran leader Abbas.

Abbas, 89, created the vice presidency position during a convention held in Ramallah this week

It follows years of international pressure to reform the PLO, and comes as Arab and Western powers envision an expanded role for Abbas's Palestinian Authority (PA) in the post-war governance of the Gaza Strip.

Founded in 1964, the PLO is empowered to negotiate and sign international treaties on behalf of the Palestinian people, while the PA is responsible for governance in parts of the Palestinian territories.

The PLO is an umbrella organisation comprising several Palestinian factions, but not the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which are currently at war with Israeli forces in Gaza.

Sheikh, 64, is a veteran leader of Abbas's Fatah movement, which dominates the PA, and is considered close to the president.

Analyst Aref Jaffal said the new role was created to pave the way for someone to take the reins from Abbas, "as there are many things the Palestinian situation requires".

"The Palestinian political system is already miserable, so I believe that all these arrangements are a prelude to creating a successor to Abbas," said Jaffal, the director of the Al-Marsad Election Monitoring Centre. (AFP)