1.
State of Palestine
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The State of Palestine claims the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as the designated capital. Most of the areas claimed by the State of Palestine have been occupied by Israel since 1967 in the aftermath of the Six-Day War and its independence was declared on 15 November 1988 by the Palestine Liberation Organization in Algiers as a government-in-exile. Since the British Mandate, the term Palestine has been associated with the area that currently covers the State of Israel, the West Bank. In 1947, the UN adopted a plan for a two-state solution in the remaining territory of the mandate. The plan was accepted by the Jewish leadership but rejected by the Arab leaders, on the eve of final British withdrawal, the Jewish Agency for Israel declared the establishment of the State of Israel according to the proposed UN plan. During the war, Israel gained additional territories that were designated to be part of the Arab state under the UN plan, Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip and Transjordan occupied the West Bank. Egypt initially supported the creation of an All-Palestine Government, but disbanded it in 1959, Transjordan never recognized it and instead decided to incorporate the West Bank with its own territory to form Jordan. The annexation was ratified in 1950 but was rejected by the international community, the Six-Day War in 1967, when Egypt, Jordan, and Syria fought against Israel, ended with Israel being in occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, besides other territories. In 1964, when the West Bank was controlled by Jordan, the Palestinian National Charter of the PLO defines the boundaries of Palestine as the whole remaining territory of the mandate, including Israel. Following the Six-Day War, the PLO moved to Jordan, the October 1974 Arab League summit designated the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and reaffirmed their right to establish an independent state of urgency. In November 1974, the PLO was recognized as competent on all matters concerning the question of Palestine by the UN General Assembly granting them observer status as an entity at the UN. In spite of this decision, the PLO did not participate at the UN in its capacity of the State of Palestines government, in 1979, through the Camp David Accords, Egypt signaled an end to any claim of its own over the Gaza Strip. In July 1988, Jordan ceded its claims to the West Bank—with the exception of guardianship over Haram al-Sharif—to the PLO, in November 1988, the PLO legislature, while in exile, declared the establishment of the State of Palestine. In the month following, it was recognised by many states, including Egypt. In the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the State of Palestine is described as being established on the Palestinian territory, the UN membership application submitted by the State of Palestine also specified that it is based on the 1967 borders. During the negotiations of the Oslo Accords, the PLO recognised Israels right to exist, after Israel took control of the West Bank from Jordan and Gaza Strip from Egypt, it began to establish Israeli settlements there. These were organised into Judea and Samaria district and Hof Aza Regional Council in the Southern District, in 1980, Israel decided to freeze elections for these councils and to establish instead Village Leagues, whose officials were under Israeli influence. Later this model became ineffective for both Israel and the Palestinians, and the Village Leagues began to break up, with the last being the Hebron League, dissolved in February 1988
2.
Politics of Palestine
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The president of the State of Palestine is the highest-ranking political position in the Palestinian National Authority. The president is elected by popular elections, the prime minister is appointed by the president and thus not directly elected by the Palestinian Legislative Council or Palestinian voters. Unlike the prime ministers office in other nations, the Palestinian prime minister does not serve as a member of the legislature while in office. Instead, the appointment is made independently by the ruling party, the prime minister is expected to represent the majority party or ruling coalition in the parliament. The Palestinian Legislative Council is the legislature of the Palestinian Authority and it is not to be confused with the Palestine National Council, which remains the national legislature of the Palestinian people as a whole. Parliamentary elections took place on 25 January 2006, initial exit polling indicated that Fatah won the most seats, though without a majority, but the results were different. After the signing of the Oslo Accords, the West bank, area A refers to the area under PA security and civilian control. Area B refers to the area under Palestinian civilian and Israeli security control, area C refers to the area under full Israeli control such as settlements. It was admitted as a member of the Asia group on 2 April 1986. After the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the PLOs representation was renamed Palestine, on 7 July 1998, this status was extended to allow participation in General Assembly debates, though not in voting. On Thursday,29 November 2012, In a 138-9 vote UN General Assembly resolution 67/19 passed, the new status equates Palestines with that of the Holy See. The change in status was described by The Independent as de facto recognition of the state of Palestine. The vote was a benchmark for the sovereign State of Palestine and its citizens, it was a diplomatic setback for Israel. It shall permit Palestine to claim rights over its territorial waters. The UN has permitted Palestine to title its representative office to the UN as The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, the Palestinian Basic Law - A collection of various proposals and amendments to the Basic Law of Palestine
3.
President of the State of Palestine
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The President of the State of Palestine is the head of the State of Palestine. He is also the President of the Palestinian National Authority, both functions were held by Yasser Arafat from 1988 and continued by his successor Mahmoud Abbas. In May 2005, the PLO Central Council asked Abbas to carry out the duties of the President of the State of Palestine, in November 2008, the PCC approved the continuation of Abbas function as President of the State of Palestine. On 15 November 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization proclaimed the State of Palestine, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization assumed the title of President of Palestine. The United Nations recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, the PLO established a parliament and a government in exile, both representing the Palestinian people worldwide. The Oslo Accords established parallel the Palestinian National Authority and a parliament, from 1994, Yasser Arafat assumed the title of President of the Palestinian National Authority, which was consolidated by the 1996 Presidential elections. Since then, both functions were simultaneously executed by a single person, unlike the function of President of the PA, the President of the State of Palestine is not validated by democratic elections, but rather by the PLO. In 1989, the PLO Central Council elected Yasser Arafat the first President, at the time, the organization who elected him was led by Yasser Arafat himself. After Arafats death in November 2004, the function was vacant, in May 2005, the PLO asked Mahmud Abbas to be acting President of State of Palestine. On 23 November 2008, the PLO Central Council formalized the function by electing Abbas President of the State of Palestine, the PLO organs who appointed Mahmud Abbas in 2005 and 2008 were and still are led by Mahmud Abbas himself. On 15 November 1988, Yasser Arafat became the symbolic President of the State of Palestine declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization, in 1994, he also became the President of the Palestinian National Authority upon the PAs formal inauguration on 5 July. He exercised limited self-government over part of the occupied Palestinian territories, following the Oslo I Accord, from 1993, an independent State of Palestine was envisioned on the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, but Arafat never saw his dream realized. Arafat remained President until his death on 11 November 2004, in May 2005, the PLO Central Council asked Abbas to carry out the duties of the President of the State of Palestine. In November 2008, the PCC appointed Abbas as President of the State of Palestine
4.
Mahmoud Abbas
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Mahmoud Abbas, also known by the kunya Abu Mazen, is the President of the State of Palestine and Palestinian National Authority. He has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization since 11 November 2004, Abbas is a member of the Fatah party. As a result, Fatahs main rival, Hamas, announced that it would not recognize the extension or view Abbas as the rightful president. Abbas was chosen as the President of the State of Palestine by the Palestine Liberation Organizations Central Council on 23 November 2008, Abbas served as the first Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority from March to September 2003. Before being named prime minister, Abbas led the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department, mahmoud Abbas was born on 26 March 1935 in Safed, in the Galilee region of Mandatory Palestine. His family fled to Syria during the 1948 Palestine war, before going to Egypt, Abbas graduated from the University of Damascus where he studied law. Abbas later entered graduate studies at the Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow and his doctoral dissertation was The Other Side, The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism, a conspiracy theory about the Holocaust. He is married to Amina Abbas and they have had three sons, the eldest, Mazen Abbas, ran a building company in Doha and died in Qatar of a heart attack in 2001 at the age of 42. The kunya of Abu Mazen means father of Mazen and their second son is Yasser Abbas, a Canadian businessman who was named after former PA leader Yasser Arafat. The youngest son is Tareq, a business executive, Abbas has eight grandchildren, six of whom are part of the Seeds of Peace initiative bringing them in touch with young Israelis. While there in 1961, he was recruited to become a member of Fatah, at the time, Arafat was establishing the groundwork of Fatah by enlisting wealthy Palestinians in Qatar, Kuwait, and other Gulf States. According to Abu Daoud, part of the funds raised by Abbas were used, without the latters knowledge and he was among the first members of Fatah to call for talks with moderate Israelis, doing so in 1977. In a 2012 interview, he recalled, because we took up arms, Abbas has performed diplomatic duties, presenting a moderating contrast to the PLOs revolutionarypolicies. In the Oslo I Accord, Abbas was the signatory for the PLO on 13 September 1993 and he published a memoir, Through Secret Channels, The Road to Oslo. In 1995, he and Israeli negotiator Yossi Beilin wrote the Beilin-Abu Mazen agreement, Palestinian officials replied that at the time in question, the PLO collaborated with Moscow, and that Abbas was their liaison man in the Palestinian-Soviet friendship foundation. By early 2003, as Israel and the United States refused to negotiate with Yasser Arafat, Abbass reputation as a pragmatist garnered him favor with the West and some members of the Palestinian legislature. Under international pressure, on 19 March 2003, Arafat appointed Abbas Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, according to Gilbert Achcar, the United States imposed Abbas on Arafat, the democratically elected leader, though the majority of Palestinians thought of the former as a Quisling. However, a struggle for power between Arafat and Abbas followed, Abbass term as prime minister was characterised by numerous conflicts between him and Arafat over the distribution of power
5.
Governance of the Gaza Strip
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The governance of the Gaza Strip is carried out by the Hamas administration, led by Ismail Haniyeh, from 2007, until 2014 and again from 2016. The Hamas administration is referred to as the Hamas government in Gaza. After the takeover in Gaza by Hamas on 14 June 2007, Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led government, both administrations – the Fatah government in Ramallah and the Hamas government in Gaza– regard themselves as the sole legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority. The international community and Palestine Liberation Organization, however, recognize the Ramallah administration as the legitimate government, since the division between the two parties, there have been conflicts between Hamas and similar factions operating in Gaza, and with Israel, most notably the Gaza War of 2008-2009. Despite the peace plan, Palestinian sources were quoted in January 2012 as saying that the May joint elections would not be possible, a unity government was sworn on 2 June 2014. Conflict between Fatah and Hamas began simmering when Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006, major conflict erupted in Gaza in December 2006, when the Hamas executive authority attempted to replace the Palestinian police as the primary authority in Gaza. On 8 February 2007 Saudi-sponsored negotiations in Mecca produced an agreement on a Palestinian national unity government, the agreement was signed by Mahmoud Abbas on behalf of Fatah and Khaled Mashal on behalf of Hamas. In March 2007, the Palestinian Legislative Council established a national unity government, with 83 representatives voting in favor, Government ministers were sworn in by Mahmoud Abbas, the president on the Palestinian National Authority, at ceremonies held in Gaza and Ramallah. In June that year, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from the unity government after forcing out Fatah. On 14 June 2007, Mahmoud Abbas announced the dissolution of the unity government. He dismissed Ismail Haniya as prime minister and appointed Salam Fayyad in his place, Palestinian police chief Kamal el-Sheikh ordered his men in the Gaza Strip not to work or obey Hamas orders. Many Fatah members fled the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, Palestinian legislator Saeb Erekat said the Palestinian National Authority officially has no control in the Gaza Strip. Hamas and Fatah accused each other of a coup détat, neither recognizes the authority of the other government, the United States, EU, and Israel have not recognized the Hamas government, but support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyads government in the West Bank. Although the US does not officially recognize the Hamas government, it holds it fully and entirely responsible for the Gaza Strip, in 2009, a radical Salafist cleric declared an Islamic Emirate in Gaza, accusing Hamas of failing to implement full Sharia law. Reports in March 2010 suggested that Ahmed Jabari described the security situation in Gaza as deteriorating, nevertheless, the Hamas continued to execute its authority. In April 2011, Hamas conducted another crackdown, this one on a Salafist group reportedly involved in Vittorio Arrigonis murder, Hamas praised the Arab Spring, but its offices in Damascus were directly affected by the Syrian Civil War. The Hamas leader Khaled Mashal eventually relocated to Jordan, and Hamas began to distance itself from the Syrian government in the backdrop of the Syrian civil war, essentially, the Doha deal does not reflect any real reconciliation among the factions of the Hamas Government. On July 2012, reports circulated that the Hamas Government in Gaza Strip was considering declaring the independence of the Gaza Strip with the help of Egypt
6.
Flag of Palestine
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The Palestinian flag is based on the Flag of the Arab Revolt, and is used to represent the State of Palestine and the Palestinian people. The flag is a tricolor of three horizontal stripes overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. Prior to being the flag of the Palestinian people, it was the flag of the short lived Arab Federation of Iraq, the flag of the Arab Revolt had the same graphic form, but the colours were arranged differently. The flag used by the Arab Palestinian nationalists in the first half of the 20th century is the flag of the 1916 Arab Revolt, the origins of the flag are the subject of dispute and mythology. Yet another version is that the flag was designed by Sir Mark Sykes of the British Foreign Office, whatever the correct story, the flag was used by Sharif Hussein by 1917 at the latest and quickly became regarded as the flag of the Arab national movement in the Mashriq. On October 18,1948, the flag of the Arab Revolt was adopted, a modified version has been used in Palestine at least since the late 1930s and was officially adopted as the flag of the Palestinian people by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964. On November 15,1988 the PLO adopted the flag as the flag of the State of Palestine, on the ground the flag became widely used since the Oslo Agreements, with the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993. Today the flag is flown widely by Palestinians and their supporters, in 1967, immediately following the Six Day War, the State of Israel banned the Palestinian flag in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. A1980 law forbidding artwork of political significance banned artwork composed of its four colours, since the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993, the ban has been abolished
7.
Fida'i
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The Palestinian national anthem, is the national anthem of Palestine. It was adopted by the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1996, in accordance with Article 31 of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence from 1988. It was written by Said Al Muzayin, its music was composed by Egyptian maestro Ali Ismael, the Palestinian fedayeen are militants or guerrillas of a nationalist orientation from among the Palestinian people. Most Palestinians consider the fedayeen to be freedom fighters, mawtini MOFA Palestine Himnuszok - A vocal version of the Anthem, featured in Himnuszok website. Palestine, Fidai - Audio of the anthem of Palestine, with information
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