Palestinian Basic Law
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The Palestinian Basic Law

A collection of various propsals and amendments to the Basic Law of Palestine.

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Interior Ministry targeted


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The Interior Ministry in Gaza  has been bombed in the first air strike that targeted a government building in the Israeli offensive. Read: Reuters Alertnet, "Israeli warplanes bomb Hamas ministry in ...   More...

Barghuti becomes honorary citizen


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The French city of Satan has granted honorary citizenship to senior Fatah leader and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Marwan Al-Barghuthi. Read: Maan News, "French city grants honorary citizenship ...   More...

Palestinian president blames Hamas


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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blames Hamas for triggering Israel's offensive in Gaza by not extending a six-month truce with Israel. Hamas and Abbas' Fatah party have been at loggerheads since ...   More...

PLC member receives 30 year sentence


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Ahmad Sa'adat, member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and Secretary-General of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has been sentenced to 30 years imprisonment by an Israeli ...   More...

Egypt plans new round of reconciliation talks


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Egypt will renew its effort to broker a unity deal between the various Palestinian factions and pave way for new elections. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has stated his intention to ...   More...

Hamas: New penal codes not ratified


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According to recent media reports, Hamas lawmakers have allegedly ratified part of a new legal code based on Islamic teacings. These reports have now been rejected by head of the legal ...   More...

President Abbas criticized for frequent travels


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As the term of the Palestinian presidency is set to expire, President Mahmoud Abbas' leadership style is becoming an issue. Ordinary Palestinians are now grumbling about Abbas's frequent travels abroad ...   More...

PNGO calls for local elections


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The Palestinian Network of Non-Governmental Organizations (PNGO) is concerned that no preparations are being made for holding municipal elections in the Palestinian territories. Several municipal councils have been dissolved since ...   More...

Fatah lawmaker calls for release of PLC speaker


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Azam al-Ahmad, leader of the Fatah bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) demands the release of PLC speaker Aziz Dweik. Dweik has been sentenced by an Israeli court to ...   More...

ICG: Conciliation process is struggle through other means


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The goals pursued by the two movements are domestic and regional legitimacy, together with consolidation of territorial control – not national unity. This is one of the conclusions reached by ...   More...

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Facts about the Basic Law

The Palestinian Basic Law is to function as a temporary constitution for the Palestinian Authority until the establishment of an independent state and a permanent constitution for Palestine can be achieved.

The Basic Law was passed by the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1997 and ratified by President Yasser Arafat in 2002. It has subsequently been amended twice; in 2003 the political system was changed to introduce a prime minister. In 2005 it was amended to conform to the new Election Law. The 2003 reform was comprehensive and affected the whole nature of the Palestinian political system, whereas the 2005 amendment was only minor and affected only a few paragraphs.

A parallel effort has been made to draft a permanent Palestinian constitution for an independent state, but this was shelved in favor of amending the existing Basic Law.


About this site

This website presents a collection of various drafts and amendments related to the Basic Law and other constitutional texts that have been compiled from various other sources.

You can also expect to find links to news items and reports that are of relevance to Palestinian constitutional law, the electoral framework, political reform and the PA branches of government.

The website was created by the Norwegian journalists Erik Bolstad and Tonje M. Viken in February 2008. The site is a private initiative and has no affiliation to any organizations or authorities.

All external links are purely for information purposes and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of this site.

Information and contact details.