Palestinian Authority prepares to draft 'Palestinian constitution' ahead of expected int'l recognition

On Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced the creation of committees that would be responsible for drafting a constitution for a Palestinian state as well as governing the Gaza Strip. 

The PA-affiliated Wafa news site reported, on Wednesday morning, about the creation of the committees, connecting it to the expected recognition of a Palestinian state by several Western nations next month at the UN General Assembly. 

“As part of the preparations to go to the general elections after the cessation of aggression and the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces and the assumption of responsibility by the State of Palestine in the Gaza Strip, and within the framework of the preparations for the international peace conference at the summit level next September to implement the two-state solution, the President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on Monday to form a committee to draft the interim constitution to transition from the PA to the state,” Wafa reported. 

The announcement referenced the elections which President Mahmoud Abbas has promised to hold sometime next year.

Abbas was elected to a four-year term in January 2005. Following the conflict between Fatah and Hamas in 2006-2007, after Hamas won the majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council and eventually took over the Gaza Strip, Abbas extended his term until the next expected elections in 2010. However, in December 2009, the PLO Central Council voted him into the position indefinitely. 

Abbas has routinely promised to hold elections in the intervening years; however, he has not done so over fears that Hamas would win the elections and take over the Palestinian Authority, leading to active conflict in the Palestinian Territories between Hamas and the IDF. 

According to Abbas’ decree, the new committee will serve as the legal authority for drafting a constitution that aligns with international law, UN resolutions, and the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence. 

The temporary constitution should “lay the constitutional foundations for a democratic system based on the rule of law, separation of powers, respect for rights and freedoms, and peaceful transfer of authority,” according to the decree. 

The PA’s Prime Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, confirmed the announcement during a visit to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, accompanied by Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. 

"We will soon announce the establishment of a temporary committee to manage the affairs of the Strip under the auspices of the Palestinian government,” Mustafa told reporters during the visit. 

Egypt has been pushing a mediation effort intended to bring about a national unity agreement between Fatah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Israel has consistently stated that it will not accept any Hamas role in Gaza following the end of the war. Even the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently said that any normalization between it and Israel would be dependent on Hamas being disarmed as a military power.

In July, the Arab League called for Hamas to disarm and relinquish power in the Gaza Strip as part of a Two-state Solution.