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

Siyam: Will not deal with Abbas as president after 9 January


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Said Siyam, interior minister in the de facto government in Gaza, declares that the de facto government will not deal with president Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority when his ...   More...

HR adviser calls for PLC members to resign


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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Human Rights advisor, Kamal Sharafi, has called on Palestinian lawmakers to agree to hold legislative elections.  According to Maan News, Sharafi argues that two thirds of ...   More...

Abbas requests follow up on PLC member Aziz Dweik


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President Mahmoud Abbas has asked chief of civilian affairs Hussein Ash-Sheikh to check on PLC speaker Aziz Dweik and his medical condition in the Israeli Megiddo prison. Medical staff had apparently ...   More...

New ICG report on Ruling Palestine


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International Crisis Group has issued their new report, Ruling Palestin II: The West Bank Model?. The report follows Ruling Palestine I: Gaza under Hamas from March this year.  The report questions ...   More...

Abbas refrained from meeting Hamas in Damascus


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Under a two-day visit to Damascus, President Mahmoud Abbas would not meet with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who lives in exile there. His discussions with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad focused on ...   More...

– 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...

HRW: PA Security forces use torture


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An upcoming report by Human Rights Watch features evidence that Palestinian security forces ruled by Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority use torture.  At a security conference in Berlin, 40 donor nations pledged £121m ...   More...

Presidential and PLC elections to coincide


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The Bureau of Fatwa and Legislation in Ramallah has stated that President Abbas' term will extend to the end of the legislative mandate of the second Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The ...   More...

Abbas overhauls security forces by decree


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With U.S. support, President Mahmoud Abbas is overhauling Palestinian security forces by decree. About 30 000 security jobs will be shed, according to Reuters. The plain-clothes Preventive Security Forces are ...   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.