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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Emilio Dabed: Decrypting The Palestinian Political Crisis: Chile 1970-73, Palestine 2006-09


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Emilio Dabed compares the political crisis in Palestine to the Chilean political crisis in early 19702. Dabed aims to show that "the Fatah-Hamas conflict does not represent a novelty but, ...   More...

Fatah spites Hamas ban


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On 4 August the Fatah party congress is set to begin in Bethlehem in the West Bank.  Hamas has conditioned the departure of some 400 Fatah members from Gaza on Abbas's ...   More...

– Hamas ready to negotiate government


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Hamas hopes the Egyptian-brokered talks set for 7 July will be successful, said party leader-in exile Khalid Meshaal following a rare meeting with Egyptian officials on Tuesday.  Meshaal states that ...   More...

– Deal with PA security forces as with Israeli soldiers


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A spokesman for Hamas' armed wing has stated that PA security forces in the West Bank will be dealt with as occupying forces. The statement came as a response to ...   More...

Hamas rejected joint Gaza force


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Hamas confirms that it has rejected an Egyptian proposal for a joint Gaza security force with Fatah. The joint force was to administer the Rafah crossing. Reform of the security forces is a ...   More...

-Committees to solve unity issues


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According to leading Fatah figure Ibrahim Abdul Naja, Egypt will set up a schedule for five committees on each of the unresolved issues in the negotiations between Fatah and Hamas. ...   More...

Fifth round of reconciliation talks


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 Hamas and Fatah delegation are travelling to Cairo this weekend in yet another attempt to overcome the remaining obstacles preventing governmental unity between the West Bank and Gaza. The delegations ...   More...

Hamas traffic police back in streets


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In Gaza, Hamas traffic police and security men are out in the street as a visible symbol of the Hamas administration's authority. The Israeli military strikes in Gaza have destroyed the compounds ...   More...

What is the Palestinian split all about?


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What can we expect in 2009? War or elections? A Q&A by Reuters presents some questions and answers about the split between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas movement. Read: Reuters ...   More...

-Hamas’ gamble endangers PLO


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If Hamas is waiting for 9 January to ambush its rival, this will be a disaster," states I’smat Abed Al-Khaleq in an op-ed in Maan News. Al-Khaleq argues that this would ...   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.