Palestinian Basic Law
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The Palestinian Basic Law

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

News & updates

– Urgent need to put election issue to rest


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Nasser Lahham comments on the disagreement between Fatah and Hamas over the legitimacy of extending the term of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The extension was declared by the Department of ...   More...

PLC member blasts extension of Abbas’ term


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Faraj Al-Ghoul, Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) argues that the extension of President Abbas' term is a violation of the Palestinian Basic Law. Al-Ghoul is head of ...   More...

Hamas minister acknowledges «mistakes»


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Interior minister Said Siyam in the de facto Hamas cabinet in Gaza acknowledges mistakes on behalf of Hamas' security forces in maintaining control on the Gaza Strip. His statement was ...   More...

Donors asked to press security forces


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Human Rights Watch argues that donors to Palestinan security forces in the West Bank should condition their aid on concrete efforts to end serious abuses by all forces. Human Rights ...   More...

Reconciliation committee calls for technocrat cabinet


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A Palestinian National Reconciliation Committee consisting of professionals, academics and civil society leaders based in Gaza has been working behind the scenes to help resolve the disputes between Hamas and ...   More...

PCHR opposes nepotistic council appointments


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The Ministry of Local Government of the de facto cabinet in Gaza has dismissed the appointed municipality council in Khan Yunis and appoint a new council. The new council began operating on 7 ...   More...

PLC speaker stands trial


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PLC speaker Aziz Dwaik (Hamas), who was arrested by Israel in 2006, will appear before the Ofer military court on Sunday. 51 Palestinian lawmakers are detained in Israeli prisons. Read: The Palestinian Information ...   More...

Haniyeh stipulates conditions for referendum


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Deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the de facto cabinet in Gaza refers to several conditions for Hamas to accept a referendum over a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. ...   More...

Hamas will accept referendum result


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 Hamas will accept the result of an eventual referendum over a Palestinian state. Hamas are reportedly also willing to concede power to a national  consensus cabinet consisting of technocrats pending ...   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.