Palestinian National Authority

In 1922, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate in Palestine was founded on the territory of its former Palestinian possessions. The UN plan developed in 1947 envisaged the division of the British mandate into Arab and Jewish states, and Jerusalem was given the status of a city under international management. In 1947, the number of Arabs was twice the Jewish population on mandated territory, and therefore the Jewish state included lands where the majority were Jews (14.1 thousand square kilometers), including most of the Mediterranean coast and territories along the Jordan River . Territories with a total area of ​​11.1 thousand km² in the north of the mandated territory in the border with Lebanon , west of the Jordan River, and also a strip along the Mediterranean coast and the border with Egypt crossed over to the Arab state. This was the second division of the territory, after Britain gave the Arabs the eastern part (3/4 of the territory) of the Mandate for the creation of Transjordan , although the decision of the League of Nations on the British Mandate included the Balfour Declaration without any changes and provided for the creation of a “Jewish national home” in the territory the entire mandate of Palestine. ^[6]

While the Jewish delegates supported the plan, all the Arab countries that were then members of the UN voted against. Immediately after the founding of Israel, Egypt , Transjordan , Iraq , Syria , Lebanon , Saudi Arabia and Yemen began a war against it. Nevertheless, as a result of the successful counterattack of the Israeli forces at the end of the hostilities, 6.7 thousand km² of territories fell under Israeli rule (including the western part of Jerusalem). The zone occupied by Jordanian and Iraqi forces became known as the West Bank , occupied by Egyptian troops - the Gaza Strip . In connection with the accession of the West Bank. Jordan to Transjordan , the latter changed the name of its state to Jordan . In 1956, the Fatah Movement for National Liberation of Palestine was founded by Yasser Arafat . In 1964, the Palestinian National Council and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), also headed by Arafat in 1969.

In 1967, during the Six Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and also declared Jerusalem its "indivisible capital." The PLO militants took an active part in the Arab-Israeli wars and are responsible for many terrorist attacks against Israel and other countries. Until 1974, when the organization received observer status at the UN , it was recognized as a terrorist organization in several countries. In a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, signed on March 26, 1979, Israel recognized the "legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." Both sides agreed that the Arab population of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip would be granted autonomy for a period of five years until the final determination of their political status, but the PLO rejected this plan. ^[7] Due to the gradual increase in tension in the region, in December 1987 an uprising ( First Intifada ) of Arabs broke out in the territories occupied by Israel. On the wave of intifada, a radical Islamic resistance movement, Hamas , was recognized as a terrorist organization in Israel, the USA and Europe . The intifada, which killed 1,162 Palestinians and 180 Israelis, was accompanied by constant terrorist attacks against Israel and retaliatory local military operations against the PLO.

In September 1993, after lengthy and difficult negotiations between Israel and the PLO, a Declaration of Principles (the so-called “ Oslo Agreement ”) was signed, which provided that “Palestinian self-government is established for a five-year term, and after three years the parties will begin negotiations on a final settlement. [...] The PLO pledged to annul the paragraph of the Palestinian National Charter (of its program document) requiring the destruction of Israel, and Israel recognized the PLO as a "representative of the Palestinian people." [...] The Israeli leadership believed that this agreement paved the way for peace, for the development of Arab-Israeli cooperation, and the PLO saw it as the first step towards creating a Palestinian state with a capital in East Jerusalem, liquidating Israeli settlements and providing all Palestinian refugees and their descendants right to return. " ^[7] The parties agreed to end hostilities, Arafat promised to officially condemn the terror, and Israel - to release the Palestinians convicted of hostile activities.

These agreements made it possible in 1996-1997 to take real action to create the Palestinian National Authority, headed by Arafat after moving from Tunisia in 1993. In 1996, the PNA hosted the election of the chairman and legislative council, won by Yasser Arafat and his Fatah party. Despite the fact that the initial administration expired in 1999, the final status of the territories has not yet been determined.

In 2000, after the failure of the Camp David summit and after a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Intifada (Second Intifada) began. It lasted 4 years until the death of PLO leader Yasser Arafat and the destruction of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yasin , after which the PNA was led by the more moderate Mahmoud Abbas . In 2005, Israel finally withdrew its troops from all settlements in the Gaza Strip as part of a unilateral disengagement plan .

Parliamentary Crisis

On January 25, 2006, the fundamentalist Islamic movement Hamas , recognized in Israel, the United States, and Europe as a terrorist organization, defeated the Palestinian Legislative Council . On January 27, Israeli Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the termination of any contacts with the new PNA government until the Hamas movement recognizes Israel’s right to exist and renounces armed struggle. Chairman of the Administration Mahmoud Abbas said that he remains the commander-in-chief of the PNA security forces (in whose ranks there are up to 50 thousand fighters), contrary to Hamas protests.

On February 18, the first meeting of the Palestinian Legislative Council of the new convocation took place, most of the seats in which were occupied by Hamas representatives. On March 19, Prime Minister Ismail Haniya presented a list of the future cabinet to the head of the administration, Mahmoud Abbas. Despite efforts, Hamas never managed to reach a coalition agreement with Fatah , and Hamas representatives made up the vast majority of the 24 ministers in the new cabinet. On March 28, the PNA parliament approved a new government.

In the context of the international blockade of the Hamas government, Russian President Vladimir Putin came up with an unexpected initiative, inviting a Hamas delegation led by Khaled Mashal to Moscow for consultations. Following the talks, the Russian leadership decided to provide the PNA government with financial and technical assistance.

At the end of March, the conflict between the rival armed groups - the Salah al-Din battalions (the fighting wing of the People’s Resistance Committees) and the PNA security services along with the militants of the Fatah militant al-Aqsa Martyrs brigade escalated in the PNA. Hamas tried to oust former police officers who are Fatah supporters who are not subordinate to the Minister of the Interior and who refused to obey the Fatah-Hamas government ^{[8] [9]} and then refused to leave the civil service. By winter, the situation had escalated to the limit, putting the PNA on the brink of civil war.

In January 2007, with the mediation of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in Mecca , agreements were reached between Fatah and Hamas on a ceasefire and the creation of a government of national unity.

In June, clashes erupted again between Fatah and Hamas . Mahmoud Abbas announced the dissolution of the administration government and introduced a state of emergency.

A member of the Hamas group, Farj al-Rul, said in an interview with Al-Khalidzh that Yasser Arafat was killed. Farj al-Rul accused the head of the security service Mohammed Dahlan of this murder. According to him, this information was obtained from documents seized in one of the administrative offices in Gaza.

The financial crisis

As The New York Times reported on July 3, 2011 , the PNA is undergoing a serious financial crisis. So, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced that more than 150,000 civil servants will be paid only half of the salary for July. It should be noted that more than a million people live on these salaries. The PA government’s debt to banks amounts to more than $ 500 million and there is no hope for new loans ^[10] . The inability to pay salaries to PNA security forces is of great concern, as their loyalty is directly proportional to salaries. A number of ministries were left without electricity, because they did not pay bills. The government demanded that producers reduce the price of bread, however, this led to a strike by bakery workers.

Salam Fayyad stated:

This is without a doubt the worst financial crisis the Palestinian Authority has ever faced. You can’t imagine the worst time for a crisis. I do not know how it will end. I have no answer.

Muhammad Mustafa, chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, said the PA administration has received some $ 15 billion in donations in recent years.

The reason for the crisis is the refusal of foreign — especially Arab — states to provide the Fayyad government with the previously promised financial assistance, the delay in Israel's payment of tax revenues, according to early agreements, etc. From the point of view of Israeli experts, the emergence of the crisis despite generous charity indicates only one thing : either part of the donations settles in the pockets of corrupt officials, or - it is clearly spent not for its intended purpose ^[11] .

The chairman of trade unions in the autonomy, Basam Zakharna, has announced an open-ended strike since August 2, 2011 in protest against the non-payment of wages to public sector employees in full ^[12] .

On September 12, 2011 , the World Bank published a report on the financial crisis in the Palestinian Authority. The report notes that the economic growth of the PNA economy turned out to be misleading, since it largely depends on donor funding. The PNA hoped to receive donor assistance totaling $ 1.4 billion in 2011, of which only part of this amount was allocated, mainly from Europe. So, in 2008, the Arab countries allocated PNA 446 million dollars, in 2009 - 462 million, in 2010 - 231 million, and in the first half of 2011 less than 80 million dollars. Thus, in the first half of 2011, funding fell below the level of expenditures and already in July, the PA leadership was not able to provide salary payments to state employees. The report said PA economic growth slowed. In the first half of 2011 there was an increase of only 4% compared to 8% in 2010. GDP in 2011 is now projected at 7% instead of the expected 9%. The unemployment rate remains high, the report says, although it fell from 22.9% in the second quarter of 2010 to 18.7% in the second quarter of 2011. The fall was due to an improvement in the economic situation in the Gaza Strip, where the unemployment rate fell from 39.3% in the second quarter of 2010 to 25.6% in the second quarter of 2011. However, the PNA is ahead of its neighbors - Jordan , Egypt , Lebanon and Syria - in a number of ways. For example, the High Judicial Council and the courts of first instance processed 67% more cases in 2009 than in 2008. The number of judges has tripled over the past 10 years. In addition, the mortality rate there is lower, and the literacy rate is higher than in most countries of the region ^[13] .

The head of the Palestinian National Authority is the chairman (in Arabic, the words “president” and “chairman” are the same). The Chairperson appoints the PNA Prime Minister on the proposal of the Legislative Council . The first direct election of the chairman of the PNA took place on January 20, 1996 for the period of the "transition period" (until the formation of a full-fledged state planned by 2000 ). The second election took place after the death of Yasser Arafat, on January 9, 2005 . The current chairman is Mahmoud Abbas .

The second person in the PNA is the speaker of the Legislative Council - he acts as chairman in the event of his death or resignation. The CCD of the first convocation, elected in 1996 simultaneously with the election of the chairman, consisted of 88 deputies. The first speaker was Ahmed Kurei . In the first election, most seats were received by Fatah deputies. The second election in the CCD (132 deputies) was held on January 25, 2006 , during which the Hamas movement won.

The Government (Council of Ministers), headed by the Prime Minister, is appointed by the chairman on the proposal of the party that won the election to the Legislative Council. The post of Prime Minister was founded in 2003 and was initially occupied by the current chairman of the PNA, Mahmoud Abbas. After the victory of Hamas in the elections in the CCD, the post of prime minister is Ismail Haniya .

Initially, the authorities of the national administration were formed by the PLO leadership: the 20th session of the Central Council of Palestine, held in Tunisia on October 10-12, 1993 , instructed the PLO executive committee to form the Transitional Palestinian Authority Council and elected Yasser Arafat "chairman of the PNA Council" ^[14] . On May 18, 1994 , the first PNA police units arrived in the Gaza Strip . On July 1, 1994, Yasser Arafat arrived in Gaza. On July 5, PNA leaders took the oath of office in Jericho ^[15] .

The PNA authorities represent about 3.7 million of its inhabitants, while the total number of Palestinians, including refugees abroad, exceeds 9 million (the Palestinian National Council acts on their behalf).

Palestinian National Authority Officials

Chairpersons of the Palestinian National Authority :

• Yasser Arafat : July 5, 1994 - November 11, 2004
• Rauhi Fattuh (acting): November 11, 2004 - January 15, 2005
• Mahmoud Abbas : January 15, 2005 - January 5, 2013 ^[16]

Chairpersons of the Palestinian Legislative Council

• Ahmed Kurei : January 1996 - 2003
• Rauhi Fattuh : March 10, 2004 - February 18, 2006
• Abdel Aziz Dwake : February 18, 2006 - January 5, 2013 ^[16]

Chairmen of the PNA Council of Ministers

• Mahmoud Abbas : March 19, 2003 - September 6, 2003
• Ahmed Kurei : October 7, 2003 - December 15, 2005
• Nabil Shaat (acting): December 15, 2005 - December 24, 2005
• Ahmed Kurei : December 24, 2005 - March 29, 2006
• Ismail Haniya : March 29, 2006 - June 17, 2007
• Salam Fayyad : June 17, 2007 - January 5, 2013 ^[16]

Palestinian National Authority Diplomatic Relations

Legislation and boundaries

The role of constitutional law was played by the Interim Treaty of September 1995 between Israel and the PLO. In accordance with it, a unicameral Parliament was created (88 deputies), from which a government should be created. A judicial system, police, and several security services were created. The PNA has the Basic Law ^[17] adopted by the CCD in October 1997 and signed by Yasser Arafat on May 29, 2002 . By this law, Jerusalem is proclaimed the capital of the State of Palestine .

The amendments adopted on March 10, 2003 and signed on March 18, 2003 introduced the post of prime minister responsible for parliament in the national administration (Basic Law as amended March 2003 - [4] ).

The amendments ^[18] adopted by the CCD on July 27, 2005 and signed by President Abbas on August 13, 2005 ) established:

• 4-year term of office of the president;
• a ban on being elected president of the PNA for more than 2 consecutive terms;
• 4 year CCD term of office;
• replacing the reference to the number of CCDs (88 deputies) with a reference to the Election Law.

The draft Constitution of the State of Palestine ^[19] , drafted in 2003 by the Constitutional Commission of Nabil Shaat, proclaims the inviolability of the borders of the State of Palestine as of June 4, 1967 .

In fact, the State of Palestine does not currently have real sovereignty . State structures are only partially formed (for example, there is no army, although there is a large police force and all kinds of paramilitary and actually terrorist organizations are active). A large part of the West Bank and East Jerusalem are controlled by the Israeli army. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are two enclaves separated by Israeli territory, the first controlled by Hamas supporters, and the second by Fatah , and each has its own “government”.

The PNA passport, introduced for citizens of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1995, is officially recognized by 29 states. ^[20]

Official Symbols

Since 1993, the Flag of the State of Palestine has been used as an official symbol of the PNA, consisting of 3 horizontal stripes of black, white and green colors (from top to bottom) and an equilateral red triangle next to the pole. Following the Oslo Accords, the flag is used in the Gaza Strip and in territories beyond the West Bank, controlled by the PNA. In 2006, during a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PNA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem, the Palestinian flag was first hoisted next to the Israeli one . Israel impedes the operation of the PNA institutions in East Jerusalem (as this violates the Oslo Accords) and does not allow the Palestinian flag to be hung on buildings where such institutions operate semi-officially.

De jure, the PNA is divided into 16 provinces ( Arabic. محافظة - mohafaza , pl. - mohafazat ): 11 in the West Bank and 5 in the Gaza Strip . However, as a result of the agreements in Oslo, as well as a number of subsequent agreements, an agreement was made to divide the territory of the West Bank into 3 zones. Zone A under the full civilian and military (police) control of the PNA, zone B under the civilian control of the PNA and the military control of Israel and zone C under the complete military and civilian control of Israel. Thus, only 17% of the West Bank is under full control of the PNA, and 59% of the territory is under full Israeli control. In the territory controlled by Israel, there are about 200 Jewish settlements . At the same time, the PNA zones A and B under full and partial control are divided into more than 200 enclaves surrounded by the Israeli zone C.

After the coup committed in Hamas in Gaza in June 2007 , the PNA officially announced that it currently does not control the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Red Crescent

The Palestine Red Crescent Society ( PRCS ) is a national humanitarian organization that provides the people of the PNA with medical, social and other types of humanitarian assistance.

It was founded on December 26, 1968 . The emblem of the organization consists of a red crescent on a white background and is placed on buildings, ambulances, documents in accordance with the Geneva Conventions and PNA laws.

Since 1969, the “Palestinian Red Crescent” has been a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as an observer. At the 29th International Conference of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies held in 2006 , the Palestinian Red Crescent was admitted as a full member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies ^[22] .

According to official Israeli sources, during the 2nd Intifada , numerous cases of using ambulances to deliver weapons and explosives or shelter for terrorists were discovered. After these incidents, the Red Crescent vehicles began to be inspected at checkpoints. ^{[23] [24]}

In April 2012, Israeli security forces arrested a group of Red Crescent workers on suspicion of committing and planning terrorist attacks. According to Shabak , the vehicles belonging to this organization were used. Among those arrested was a PNA special services officer who was responsible for her security and who provided weapons to the terrorists ^{[25] [26] [27]} .

The attitude of the PNA to anti-Israeli terrorism is twofold. PNA leaders generally condemn terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians ^[28] . At the same time, the Israeli government and other sources note incitement against Israel and the heroization of terrorists in the media and by the PNA official bodies ^[29] .

Even before the beginning of the 2nd intifada, the then leadership of the PLO, despite its obligations, did not take serious measures to combat terror. Moreover, part of the PNA law enforcement agencies created as a result of the Agreements were members of such terrorist organizations as Hamas and Islamic Jihad , planning, providing and committing attacks against citizens of Israel. ^{[30] [31] [32]}

In April 2011 , on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover , the administration of Mahmoud Abbas awarded Abbas al-Saeed ( Hamas ) - the organizer of the attack at the Park Hotel in Netanya on March 27, 2002, with an official holiday sign. The victims of this attack were mostly elderly people who celebrated this holiday in 2002. ^{[33] [34]}

Following the implementation of the deal to release Gilad Shalit, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas promised to pay $ 5,000 to every terrorist who was freed as part of the Shalit deal and provide free housing in new homes. ^[35]

Despite any assurances from the PA leaders about their desire for peace, the highest religious person of the Palestinian Authority, Mufti PA Muhammad Hussein, at a rally of many thousands, dedicated to the 47th anniversary of the foundation of Fatah, said:

The task of every Muslim is to kill Jews. For the great mission entrusted to Muslims is to cleanse the earth of Jews. For as long as at least one Jew is alive, the dead will not rise, as predicted in the Qur'an. Therefore, go and kill ^[36] .

In June 2012, the Palestinian Media Watch organization published excerpts from the official methodological manual “Terminology of Politics, Culture and the Media”, issued by the PNA Information Ministry and designed to “introduce“ correct “terminology to describe Palestinian-Israeli relations.” Already in the preface, the manual suggests avoiding words recognizing Israel’s right to exist, since "their use turns a Zionist enterprise from a racist, colonial formation into the national home of the Jewish people." According to the manual ^{[37] [38]} :

• “ Temple Mount ” should be called “Hiram al-Sharif”, “ Wailing Wall ” - “Al-Baraka Wall”, and “ Magen David ” - simply “six-pointed star”.
• The perpetrators of the attacks against the Israelis are “resistance fighters,” and the “suicide bombers” are the “perpetrators of the act of sacrifice of the Shahids .”
• “ Israeli Arabs ” are “Palestinians living within the borders of the 48th year .”

• State of Palestine
• The international legal status of the State of Palestine
• Palestine Liberation Organization
• Palestinian territories
• Russian-Palestinian relations

• Gusterin P.V. Cities of the Arab East. - M .: East-West, 2007 .-- 352 p. - (Encyclopedic reference book). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-478-00729-4 .

• Official sites:
  • Palestinian National Authority ?
  • Government
  • Palestinian Legislative Council
• Palestinian News Agency IAAN (English, Hebrew, Arabic)
• News sites of the radical opposition coalition:
  • Palestinian Information Center (Hamas) (in Russian)
• Without BAGAC and “Be-Tselem”: Torture in the PA as an everyday phenomenon (neopr.) . - an article on the Zman.com website ( 03.24.2012 ).
• From Terrorists to Role Models: The Palestinian Authority's Institutionalization of Incitement palwatch.org May 6, 2010
• Daniel Pipes The Palestinian Authority Celebrates Terrorists Who Killed Israelis May 3, 2010
• HR 4681 (109th): Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (English) (109th Congress, 2005-2006. Text as of May 25, 2006). Date of treatment January 2, 2013. Archived January 5, 2013.