Palestinian National Authority

Politics and Internal structure

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has historically been associated with the PLO, with whom Israel negotiated the Oslo Accords. The Chairman of the PLO, Yasser Arafat, was elected as President of PA in a landslide victory in 1996. Subsequent elections were postponed, ostensibly due to the eruption of the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Israeli military clampdown that accompanied it. However, internal Palestinian strife was also a reason for the disorganization in government, and it was not until Arafat's death in 2004 that new elections occurred on both presidential and local levels. Although almost 80% of the employees of the PA were local Palestinians, higher posts were occupied mostly by PLO officials who returned from exile once the PA was established in 1994. To many local Palestinians, these "returnees" were a source of bureaucracy and corruption.

Related Topics:
PLO - Israel - Oslo Accords - Yasser Arafat - 1996 - Al-Aqsa Intifada - 2004 - 1994

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Arafat's administration was criticized for its lack of democracy, wide-spread corruption among officials, and the division of power among families and numerous governmental agencies with overlapping functions. He established over ten distinct security organizations through various mechanisms in an alleged divide et impera scheme, which is claimed to have guaranteed an atmosphere of power-struggle in the Authority which enabled him to preserve overall control. Both Israel and the US declared they lost trust in Arafat as a partner and refused to negotiate with him, regarding him as linked to terrorism. Arafat denied this, and was visited by other leaders around the world up until his death. However, this began a push for change in the Palestinian leadership. In 2003, Arafat succumbed to domestic and international pressure and appointed Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) as prime minister of the PA. Abbas resigned four months later because of lack of support from Israel, the US, and Arafat himself. He was later chosen as his Fatah party's candidate for president of the PA in 2004 after the death of Arafat. He won the presidency on January 9, 2005 with 62% of the vote.

Related Topics:
Divide et impera - 2003 - Mahmoud Abbas - Fatah - January 9 - 2005

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According to the Palestinian "Basic Law" which was signed by Arafat in 2002 after a long delay, the current structure of the PA is based on three separate branches of power http://www.pogar.org/countries/index.asp?cid=14: executive, legislative, and judiciary. The Judiciary Branch has yet to be properly formalized.

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The president of the PA is directly elected by the people, and the holder of this position is also considered to be the commander-in chief of the armed forces. In an amendment to the Basic Law approved in 2003 (and which may or may not become part of the Palestinian constitution once independence is established), the president appoints a "prime minister" who is also chief of the national security services. The prime minister chooses a cabinet of ministers and runs the government, reporting directly to the president. The current prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, formed his government on February 24, 2005 to wide international praise because, for the first time, most ministries were headed by experts in their field as opposed to political appointees http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/24/world/main676172.shtml.

Related Topics:
Ahmed Qureia - February 24 - 2005

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The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is an elected body of 88 representatives and acts as a parliament. The PLC must approve all government cabinet positions proposed by the prime minister, and must also confirm the prime minister himself upon nomination by the president. As opposed to other Arab countries, the PLC has historically demonstrated considerable power, and has frequently caused changes in government appointments through threats of no-confidence votes. Many critical votes are won in the government's favor without an outright majority. Since the death of Arafat, the PLC has reinvigorated its activity, and commonly summons senior executive officials to testify before it. Parliamentary elections are now scheduled for 2006 after the recent passage of an overhauled election law that increased the number of seats from 88 to 132.

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