Palestinian National Authority

Palestinian National Authority (PNA) (Israeli name: Palestinian Authority (PA)), interim body created to administer Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip occupied by Israel in 1967. The PNA shares power with and is subordinate to the Israeli government. The PNA was established as a result of the 1993 Oslo peace agreement signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), providing initially for incremental Israeli withdrawals from most of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and limited Palestinian self-rule in these areas. A nominated PNA took office in Gaza, the principal city in the Gaza Strip, shortly after Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank city of Jericho in May 1994. Further withdrawals in 1995 and 1997 extended the PNA’s jurisdiction to additional Palestinian areas of the West Bank. A 1998 accord mandated more Israeli withdrawals, but Israel froze the implementation of the accord after one small withdrawal. Under the 1993 peace agreement the PNA was to govern for a five-year period until May 1999. At that time, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations regarding the final status of the Palestinian areas were to take place. However, final-status talks were delayed.

The duties of government in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were divided between Israel and the PNA. Israel maintained nearly complete control over the foreign affairs of the territories. Israel also controlled Jewish settlements and military installations, as well as security and travel between Palestinian-populated areas in the rural parts of the West Bank. While the PNA handled security in the Gaza Strip and in cities of the West Bank, security in most other Palestinian areas in the West Bank fell under the joint control of Israel and the PNA. Under the terms of the 1998 accord, the PNA opened the Gaza International Airport in November 1998; Israel maintained considerable control over the airport’s security. The PNA had, in theory, nearly complete authority over most civil matters in Palestinian areas, including taxation, economic matters, and education, health care, social services, and law courts. Together with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the PNA also represented Palestinians in negotiations with Israel regarding further Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank and the final status of the Palestinian areas.

The PNA is governed by an executive and legislative branch. The Executive Authority is led by a president (preferred term of the Palestinians), or head (preferred term of the Israelis). Former PLO Chairman, Yasir Arafat, served as president from the establishment of the PNA until his death in November 2004 and was elected in the first popular elections in January 1996. The president appointed the first Cabinet in May 1996; since then there have been several Cabinets, all of them much criticized for mismanagement, corruption, and abuse of human rights. Cabinets have consisted of several ministers, the number ranging between 21 and 31. Some of the operations of the ministries are supplemented by semi-governmental bodies, such as the Palestine Council for Development and Reconstruction, which channels foreign aid to Palestinians. Minimal funding—much of it allocated to security—has severely limited the functions of the Executive Authority. For this and other reasons, the primary functions of the executive branch have been security and negotiations with Israel.

The legislative branch of the PNA, called the Palestinian Council, is made up of 88 members elected by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The council was first elected in January 1996 (80 per cent of the electorate voted) and met for the first time in March 1996 in Gaza. The council is responsible for generating legislation but thus far has been overshadowed by the executive branch. The Al Fatah political party, dominates the legislative council.

Although the offices of the president and the Palestinian Council are located in Gaza, many of its other offices and facilities are scattered throughout the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Until its closure by Israel a PNA minister inhabited Orient House in Jerusalem. The president’s headquarters are in Rām Allāh.

A major outbreak of violence followed the opening of an Israeli tunnel in the area of the Haram al-Sharif (or Temple Mount) in Jerusalem in 1996. The PNA was put under pressure to suppress the Islamic militants and in 1997 there were many arrests before a new modus vivendi between the PNA and the militants was found. Peace talks held at Camp David between Arafat and Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak broke down in July 2000, ending any immediate hope for a negotiated solution, and on September 28 the visit of Likud leader Ariel Sharon to the al-Aqsa compound in the Haram al-Sharif sparked off what became known as the second, or al-Aqsa, intifada.

After the second intifada began in October 2000, Israelis accused Arafat of encouraging violence and President Arafat was confined to his headquarters in Rām Allāh. Under Israeli pressure the authority of the PNA began to disintegrate in 2001 and it became doubtful whether it had the ability, or even the will, to restrain violence. In March and May 2002 Israeli armed forces reoccupied the West Bank and mounted attacks on Gaza.

Under increasing international and domestic pressure (Israel refused to deal with him, and President George W. Bush called for radical reform and the replacement of Arafat), Arafat announced plans to overhaul the government of the PNA and to call elections for the beginning of 2003. In February 2003 he agreed to appoint a prime minister and the following month Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), secretary-general of the PLO, was chosen. From the beginning there was friction between Abbas and Arafat, who was unwilling to surrender power, especially over security. Abbas attempted to establish a unilateral Palestinian ceasefire but it collapsed in August 2003 after just seven weeks. On September 1, Israel announced that it was freezing all relations with the PNA and a week later Abbas and his internal security minister, Muhammad Dahlan, resigned. Arafat appointed the more co-operative Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) as the new prime minister and recovered control of security matters through the device of a new national security council. Qurei's new government took office in November 2003 and sought a negotiated, bilateral ceasefire with Israel.

Arafat remained confined to his presidential compound until October 2004, when he was allowed to seek medical treatment in France. He died in Paris on November 11, 2004 and his body was later interred at Rām Allāh. Elections were held in January 2005 and Mahmoud Abbas was appointed president of the PNA, with 62 per cent of the vote. In February, Abbas met Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where the two agreed a ceasefire, bringing hope to the stagnant peace process. The first elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council for over a decade took place in January 2006. Entering candidates for the first time, Hamas dramatically won the election—securing 45 per cent of the vote and 74 of the 132 seats—and was asked to form a government by President Abbas. Ismail Haniyeh was appointed prime minister.

The response of the international community to the advent of a Hamas-led government was to freeze all aid until it recognized the peace deals with Israel. As a result the Palestinian economy began to crumble and hostilities between the PNA security forces and Hamas militia groups increased. In an attempt to avert civil war, a unity government of supporters of the two parties was established in April 2007. In June Hamas militias seized control of the Gaza Strip from Al Fatah security forces. Consequently Abbas replaced the unity government of the PNA (which retained effective control over the West Bank) with one made up entirely of Al Fatah supporters. International aid was restored to this government in an attempt to persuade Palestinians to support their moderate president.