Abbas publishes Palestinian Authority draft constitution
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the publication of the draft constitution for a Palestinian state earlier this week, the PA’s official news agency WAFA announced.
The full draft of the constitution, read by The Jerusalem Post, omitted Jewish ties to Jerusalem in Article III, claiming it as the “capital of the State of Palestine, and its political, spiritual, cultural, and educational center, as well as its national symbol,” and committed to “preserving its religious character and protecting its Islamic and Christian sanctuaries.”
The same article called on the state to commit to protecting Jerusalem’s “legal, political, and historical status,” and affirmed that “any measures to change its character or historical identity are considered null and void according to international law.”
Additionally, Article IV designated the official religion of a Palestinian state as Islam, with Islamic Sharia principles to be the “primary source for legislation,” while also protecting Christianity as having a special status, with designated rights.
The president must also “swear by God Almighty” when entering office, per Article LXXVI, and Article CXXXII called for Sharia disputes to be handled by Sharia and religious courts.
While Article XXVII called for equality without discrimination based on personal aspects, including religion, and Article XXXVII affirmed “freedom of belief and to practice religious rites, establishing places of worship for followers of monotheistic religions,” there is no mention of Judaism or Jewish people in any article of the constitution.
Palestine remains part of Arab nation
Further, Article I affirmed Palestine as “part of the Arab homeland,” and notes that the “Palestinian people are part of the Arab nation.”
Meanwhile, Article XI reaffirmed the Palestine Liberation Organization as the “sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people” – a status it has claimed since its founding by Yasser Arafat.
Continued ‘pay-for-slay’ care for terrorist ‘martyrs’
Article XXIV described how the state would “work to provide protection and care for the families of martyrs, wounded, and prisoners, and those released from the occupation prisons and the victims of genocide.”
This article is drafted into the constitution, appearing to formalize the continuation of the PA’s controversial “pay-for-slay” policy, which provides financial stipends to families of convicted terrorists and terror suspects.
The article also calls to “pursue the perpetrators of these crimes before the judiciary.”
Article XLIV furthered this by calling for the “provision of comprehensive care for the families of the martyrs, wounded, and prisoners, and those released [from prison], in preservation of their national dignity and their humanitarian and living needs.”
Parameters for ‘security forces,’ banning of non-government sanctioned militias
The constitution’s ninth chapter set out the nature of the claimed state’s “security forces.”
In Article CLIII, the “security forces” are designated as “regular forces whose duties are restricted to defending the homeland, serving the people, protecting society, and working to maintain security and public order.”
Further, the “security agencies” are to be “subject to civil authority and democratic oversight, operating exclusively within the scope of the Constitution and law,” the article set out.
The state will be responsible “for the security of the homeland and the citizen at home and abroad,” with “security forces entrusted with maintaining the independence and defending territorial unity and sovereignty,” Article CLIV stated.
The security forces will be “committed to political neutrality,” and it will “not be permissible” for members to belong to any political organization or engage in “party activity” during their service, the article expanded.
There will also be a prohibition on the “establishment of any military or security formations or organizations or military or semi-military groups outside the scope of the security forces, whether they are individuals or units,” per Article CLIV.
Parameters for presidential terms, election, candidacy
Article XVII called for “free and fair periodic elections and transparency as a constitutional right and the basis of democratic representation and free power,” while Article LXXIV intends to limit a president to a maximum of two terms, with each term to be five years in length.
The candidate must also be born to two Palestinian parents and not hold any other nationalities, Article LXXV declared, also specifying that they must be over 40 years of age, and not convicted of “any felony or misdemeanor involving breach of honor or trust, even if he has been rehabilitated.”
The article also clarified that if a candidate holds another nationality, they must submit a written pledge to renounce it upon election, opening the door to those who claim Palestinian citizenship but live abroad.
The drafted constitution also called for the establishment of a Palestinian Monetary Authority, which would enjoy “legal responsibility and financial and administrative independence,” per Article CXLVII.
Constitution’s preamble rejects ‘colonial settlement occupation,’ ‘ethnic cleansing,’ ‘settlement expansion,’ ‘continued genocide in Gaza, West Bank’
The constitution is “an extension of the liberation journey from occupation and guardianship, and an expression of the freedom of a people who love life as it deserves to be lived; a people who reject the colonial settlement occupation and any alternative to their homeland, seeking a path of dignity and sovereignty,” per the preamble.
The committee presented it as “a light for the liberation movements and a bridge between a besieged present and a future open to freedom and change, ensuring the transition of the State of Palestine from a temporary authority seeking to get rid of the occupation to a democratic state based on the rule of law and human dignity, adopting a path of democratic struggle and peaceful rotation of power through the ballot box.”
“This constitution comes as a tribute to the continuous Palestinian struggle that has never ceased and to the diplomatic and political efforts exerted over decades to recover international recognition,” the preamble continued.
“It arrives at a delicate stage where our people in the homeland face policies of displacement and ethnic cleansing, and where settlement expansion and genocide continue in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, while the dream of return remains alive in the hearts of Palestinians everywhere, generation after generation,” it claimed.
Hamas official Bassem Naim denounces constitution as ‘violation of rights’
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim denounced the draft constitution as a “violation of the noble rights of our Palestinian people, who need better leadership,” according to a report by Israel’s public broadcaster KAN News.
The constitution is a “failed attempt by the PA to save itself from the developments of history,” he continued, while mocking Abbas for not being permitted to enter the US for a speech to the UN General Assembly in September, per the Israeli outlet.
“Perhaps the recent decisions of the fascist entity [Israel]’s government regarding settlement and annexation indicate what we are heading towards,” he stated.
“We must reject this constitution, because the people under occupation do not write constitutions according to the standards of the occupier. We do not write tables for arranging life in prison, but must write in blood and unity the document of our complete freedom and our return,” he affirmed.
The Constitution Drafting Committee was chaired by Mohammad al-Haj Qassem and consisted of 16 members, as mandated by a presidential decree.
Abbas’s decree provided for an invitation to “citizens, civil society institutions (CSOs), political factions, experts, and academics to submit their comments and proposals on the draft within sixty days as from the date of publication of the decree,” WAFA reported.
Macron previously offered help to draft constitution
In November, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Paris would help Abbas in drafting the constitution for a future state, following talks between the two officials. The drafted constitution and media statements recently published by the PA do not make any reference to French assistance in the process.
