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.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Palestinian Legislative Council
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The Palestinian Legislative Council was the parliament of the Palestinian inhabitants of the Palestinian territories. It was a body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank. The PLC was inaugurated for the first time on 7 March 1996, the PLC had limited power and responsibilities, restricted to civil matters and internal security in Area A of the West Bank and in Gaza. With the possible reconciliation of Hamas and Fatah, it would be re-assembled to become the Parliament of the State of Palestine, the Palestinian Legislative Council passed a law in June 2005, increasing the number of members from 88 to 132. It stipulated that half be elected under a system of proportional representation, the last parliamentary elections took place on 25 January 2006. The next election was intended to take place sometime in 2014 but has been delayed because of disagreements between Hamas and Fatah, the emblem used for the Palestinian Legislative Council is referred to as the Eagle of Saladin. Every single detail regarding the elections was led down in Annex II, Oslo II determines that only residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories may vote or be elected. The power and responsibilities of the PLC are limited to civil matters and internal security and public order, the PLC is excluded from the negotiations process with Israel. The PLC was inaugurated for the first time on 7 March 1996, the Council was predestined to replace the Arafat/Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority, which was established as a temporary organ, pending the inauguration of the Council. The PA, however, never transferred its power, while the PLC is elected by the Palestinians residing in the Palestinian territories, it is not the parliament of the State of Palestine. Accordingly, the Palestinian Authority is not the government of the State of Palestine, on the contrary, PLO is recognized by the United Nations as the Government of the State of Palestine. The PLO has its own parliament, the Palestinian National Council, accordingly, the Executive Committee, formally elected by the PNC, is the official government of the State of Palestine on behalf of the PLO. Pursuant to the PAs 1995 Elections Law No,13, the 132 PLC members would automatically become members of the PNC. This was revoked, however, by the 2005 Elections Law No,9, which does not mention the PNC at all. 2, issued in a decree from President Abbas, re-instated the determination, as this PA legislation was neither enacted by the PLO or the PNC, their legal validity are questioned in a PLO document. While both PLC and PNC are virtually defunct, the functions of both parliaments are performed by the PLOs Central Council and they had to obtain a permit from the Israeli authorities for every single travel, valid for very short periods and sometimes refused. In 2001, the European Parliament noticed in a resolution that The Palestinian Legislative Council is more often than not hindered from attending the sessions Isolation from the outer world, Israel prevents official contacts with the outer world. Even the visit of members of the European Parliament to Gaza were denied, Israeli interference with the composition of the PLC
8.
Current members of Palestinian Legislative Council
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The Palestinian Legislative Council currently has 132 members following the legislative election on 25 January 2006. This is a list of PLC members, arranged by electoral district,15 members are imprisoned by Israeli authorities and three are deceased, according to the count on 31 December 2010. General List of elected PLC members in alphabetical order, List of elected PLC members according to their residency
9.
Aziz Duwaik
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Aziz Duwaik has been the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council since his election to that post on 18 January 2006. He was imprisoned in Israel on 6 August 2006 on charges of being a member of Hamas, prior to becoming involved in political office, Duwaik was a professor of urban geography at An-Najah National University in Nablus on the West Bank. He holds a PhD in Regional and Architecture Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, married, with seven children, one of his daughters is a school principal, and three of his other children are students of medicine or pharmacy. Duwaiks wife runs a daycare out of the familys house named Marj al-Zohour. He has never been accused of involvement in terrorism, Duweik has been associated with The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas since as early as 1992. In 1992, a military wing was established called the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades so that the political wing of Hamas could be distinguished from the military one. In 1992, Duwaik was among 415 Palestinians associated with Hamas or the Islamic Jihad who were arrested and exiled to southern Lebanon by the Israeli administration of Yitzhak Rabin, Rabin acknowledged that those exiled were not armed militants, but people who represented the Hamas infrastructure. Driven to the border with Lebanon, he and the others were dropped off in the de-militarized zone between the two countries and warned not to come back. Lebanon refused to allow entry, so Duweik and his compatriots remained in no-mans land. After a year, Rabin agreed to let them come back, Duweik ran for a position in the Palestinian Legislative Council in the January 2006 elections on the Change and Reform list, made up primarily of Hamas members. The US immediately suspended aid to the new government, and some other Western governments were considering the same and he also said, My message to Israel is to put an end to the occupation, and then there will be no fighting. If Israel preserves this stance, then the law will have to decide between us over this issue and this plan is another Israeli attempt to harm the democratic process and its outcomes, a process that was free, transparent, and which took place before the whole worlds eyes. This is an attempt to harm us, but we are lions, Duwaik was arrested by Israel on 29 June 2006 as part of Israels Operation Summer Rains. He was later released and then rearrested 6 August 2006, Duwaik says he was severely beaten while in custody, and his lawyers say that he was held in unsanitary conditions. In August 2006, Duwaik was charged in Israel for being a member of Hamas and for being in contact with Khaled Mashal and he expressed his view that this was a political trial and stated that he did not recognize it. He accused Israel of using blackmail, and said that his arrest was in violation of international law. Duwaik was imprisoned in spite of his parliamentary immunity, Israel released Duwaik two months before the end of his three-year sentence. Released from Hadarim prison near Tel Aviv, he was transferred to an Israeli military checkpoint outside the city of Tulkarm
10.
Elections in Palestine
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Elections for the Palestinian National Authority were held in Palestinian Autonomous areas from 1994 until their transition into the State of Palestine in 2013. Elections were scheduled to be held in 2009 per the states own laws, president Mahmoud Abbas agreed to stay on until the next election, but he is recognised only in the West Bank and not in Gaza. The Palestinian National Authority has held elections in the Palestinian territories, including elections for a president, legislature. The Palestinian Legislative Council passed a new law in June 2005 and it stipulates that half be elected under a system of proportional representation and half by plurality-at-large voting in traditional constituencies. An opinion poll suggested that a majority of Palestinians supported the change, the PNA has a multi-party system, with numerous parties. In this system Fatah was the dominant party, the first Legislative and presidential election were held in 1996, the first local elections in January–May 2005, organized by PNA president Yasser Arafat before his death. Previous legislative Council elections were held in 1923 under the British Mandate, previous municipal elections were held in 1972 and 1976 and were organized by the Israeli occupational government. The January 2005 presidential election, won by Mahmoud Abbas, preceded the Hamas victory during the election in January 2006. Israel does not allow free exercise of political activities, checkpoints, the parliament cannot properly function because free travel is impossible, especially between Gaza and the West Bank, regardless of hostilities between Fatah and Hamas. Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and other politicians have been subject to lengthy detentions by Israel or even killed, in October 2007,2 ex-ministers and 45 PLC members were in Israeli detention. In July 2012, there were 4,706 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, of these,22 are PLC members, of which 18 are in administrative detention. The November 2013 figures of Addameer give about 5,000 prisoners imprisoned by Israel, following the Fatah–Hamas conflict that started in 2006, Hamas formed a government ruling the Gaza Strip without elections. A second Hamas government was announced by Gazan Prime Minister Haniyye on September 2012, six parties and 4 Independents won seats. Change and Reform/Hamas gained 44. 45%, Fatah gained 41. 43%, Mahmoud Abbas gained 62. 52%, his most important competing candidate Mustafa Barghouti won 19. 48%. Local elections in 2005 were held in four stages, but were never finalized, the last stage was held on December 23,2005. On that day, elections were held in 26 municipalities that included over 140,000 eligible voters in Jericho and 25 villages in the West Bank, over a quarter of Palestinian population was not included in these elections, including major towns such as Hebron. Conflict between Hamas and Fatah anfter legislative elections in 2006 placed local elections on hold, four year term of local councils in Palestinian Authority expired in January 2009. Council of Ministers called for elections to be held on 17 July 2010, but after Fatah proved incapable of agreeing on list of candidates
11.
Foreign relations of the State of Palestine
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The foreign relations of the Palestine Liberation Organization have been conducted since the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964. The PLO Executive Committee performs the functions of the government of the State of Palestine, currently, the PLO maintains a network of offices in foreign countries and also represents the PNA abroad. From 2011, the PLOs diplomatic effort has focused on the so-called Palestine 194 campaign. It seeks to gain collective recognition for a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. The Palestine Liberation Organization was created in 1964 as an organization and has sought to conduct foreign relations with states. Initially, the PLO established relations with Arab and communist countries, in 1969 the PLO became a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. In October 1974, the Arab League designated the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. The new status of the PLO was recognised by all Arab League states except Jordan, on 22 November 1974, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3236 recognised the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence, and sovereignty in Palestine. It also recognised the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people to the United Nations, by Resolution 3237 on the same date, the PLO was granted non-State observer status at the United Nations. In September 1976, the PLO became a member of the Arab League. Many countries and organisations upgraded representation from the PLO to the new State, though in practice the same PLO offices, personnel, in February 1989 at the United Nations Security Council, the PLO representative claimed recognition from 94 states. Since then, additional states have publicly extended recognition, the PNA was established by the PLO in 1994 following the Oslo Accords and the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement. The Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, who since July 2007 has been Riyad Al-Maliki, is responsible for the relations of the PNA. The PLO maintains a network of missions and embassies, and represents the PNA abroad, most of the 136 states that have recognised the State of Palestine have elevated the PLO representation in their country to the status of embassy. A number of states have granted some form of diplomatic status to a PLO delegation. In some cases, as a matter of courtesy, these delegations and missions have been granted diplomatic privileges, and are often referred to as embassies with their heads as ambassadors. In the United States, an unofficial PLO information office was established in New York in 1964 and run by Sadat Hassan, the Palestine Information Office was then registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent and operated until 1968, when it was closed. The PLO was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 1987, a PLO office was reopened in 1989 as the Palestine Affairs Center
12.
Palestinian Authority passport
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The Palestinian Authority passport is available to anyone on production of a birth certificate showing that they were born in Palestine. What constitutes Palestine for this purpose is not clear, in practice, only residents of areas under the Palestinian Authority jurisdiction can apply. Whether Palestinians born outside Palestine could apply for the passport is not clear. However, the issuance is subject to additional restrictions imposed by the Israeli government. Israel asserts that the requirement is permitted for security needs under the Interim Agreement, between 1924 and 1948, the term Palestinian passport referred to the travel documents that were available to residents of British Mandate Palestine. Issued by the High Commissioner for Palestine, they were titled, British passport. These passports became invalid with the termination of the British mandate on 15 May 1948, Israeli and Jordanian passports were offered to former British Mandate subjects according to the citizenship they acquired in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The Egyptian-controlled All-Palestine Government issued All-Palestine passports between 1949 and 1959 to Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip and Egypt, however, passport holders were not permitted to move freely into Egypt. In the meantime, Transjordan annexed the West Bank and Palestinian residents of the West Bank became citizens of Jordan, and were entitled to a Jordanian passport. After the 1967 Six-Day War, during which Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan, Palestinian Arabs living there continued to have the right to apply for Jordanian passports, Palestinian refugees actually living in Jordan were also considered full Jordanian citizens. In July 1988, Jordan severed all legal and administrative ties with the West Bank, any Palestinian living in Jordan would remain a Jordanian citizen, but residents of the West Bank would not. Jordan continued to issue passports to Palestinians in the West Bank, on 2 April 1995, two years after the Oslo Accords of 1993, the Palestinian Authority started issuing Palestinian Authority passports to the public in the self-ruling areas of Gaza and Jericho. These passports retained the personal ID number of the Israeli Civil Administration, Palestinians regard the passport as a crucial symbol of nationhood. The recognition of the passports by other countries has been cited as evidence of recognition by them of the State of Palestine and/or Palestinian nationality, as of 1997, Palestinian authorities had not issued a passport in the name of the State of Palestine. S. Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have indicated only that the passports, along with valid visas or other necessary papers, the decision followed a recommendation by a ruling party panel on nationality that Palestinians should no longer be treated as stateless. Palestinian Declaration of Independence Visa requirements for Palestinian citizens
13.
President of the Palestinian National Authority
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The President of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position in the Palestinian National Authority. The President appoints the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Palestinian National Authority was created by the 1994 Gaza–Jericho Agreement. Ministers were to be approved by the Legislative Council, under pressure of the international community and from within his own party Fatah, Arafat appointed a Prime Minister on 19 March 2003. More specifically it was a form of semi-presidentialism, where the PM is responsible to both President and Parliament. The Amended Basic Law limits the Presidential powers, The President of the National Authority shall exercise his duties as specified in this law. A new Government is subjected to a vote of confidence by the PLC, the Prime Minister chairs the Council of Ministers. Under the 2002 Basic Law, the President presided the Council of Ministers. The President appoints the Prime Minister and may dismiss him, but may not form a government, which is the task of the Prime Minister, nor approve a government, which is the task of the parliament. Promulgates or refers back the laws voted by the Palestinian Legislative Council, but has no legislative power, issues urgent decrees with force of law, if the Legislative Council is not in session. Those decrees must be presented to the Council in the next convened session, if not approved they are also deemed to be no longer valid. May declare a state of emergency by decree for a not to exceed 30 days. The state of emergency may be extended for another period of 30 days, during a state of emergency, the Palestinian Legislative Council may not be dissolved or its work hindered. is Commander-in-Chief of the Palestinian Forces. Appoints and terminate the services of the National Authority’s delegates to foreign entities, the term of the first president was envisioned to cover the interim phase. The second president would be elected in a general and direct election by the Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories, an interim period of five years was defined in the Oslo I Accord and started on 4 May 1994. The first President of the PA was accordingly appointed on 5 July 1994, the introduction of the Amended Basic Law refers to the Oslo Accords. The Basic Law refers to the period as defined in the Oslo Accords. Article 36 reads, The term of the presidency of the National Authority shall be the interim phase, since the original Basic Law was designed only for the interim period as specified in the Oslo Accords—a period that was supposed to end in 1999—there was no provision for re-election. The 2005 Amendment to the Basic Law, issued on 13 August 2005, changed the term from the phase into four years
14.
Yasser Arafat
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Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa, popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization from 1969 to 2004, ideologically an Arab nationalist, he was a founding member of the Fatah political party, which he led from 1959 until 2004. Arafat was born to Palestinian parents in Cairo, Egypt, where he spent most of his youth, while a student, he embraced Arab nationalist and anti-Zionist ideas. Opposed to the 1948 creation of the State of Israel, he fought alongside the Muslim Brotherhood during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, returning to Cairo, he served as president of the General Union of Palestinian Students from 1952 to 1956. In the latter part of the 1950s he co-founded Fatah, an organisation seeking the disestablishment of Israel. Fatah operated within several Arab countries, from where it launched attacks on Israeli targets, in the latter part of the 1960s Arafats profile grew, in 1967 he joined the PLO and in 1969 was elected chair of the Palestinian National Council. Fatahs growing presence in Jordan resulted in clashes with King Husseins Jordanian government. There, Fatah assisted the Lebanese National Movement during the Lebanese Civil War and continued its attacks on Israel, from 1983 to 1993, Arafat based himself in Tunisia, and began to shift his approach from open conflict with the Israelis to negotiation. In 1988, he acknowledged Israels right to exist and sought a solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In 1994 he returned to Palestine, settling in Gaza City and he engaged in a series of negotiations with the Israeli government to end the conflict between it and the PLO. These included the Madrid Conference of 1991, the 1993 Oslo Accords, in 1994 Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, for the negotiations at Oslo. At the time, Fatahs support among the Palestinians declined with the growth of Hamas, in late 2004, after effectively being confined within his Ramallah compound for over two years by the Israeli army, Arafat fell into a coma and died. While the cause of Arafats death has remained the subject of speculation, investigations by Russian, the majority of the Palestinian people view him as a heroic freedom fighter and martyr who symbolized the national aspirations of his people. Arafat was born in Cairo, Egypt and his father, Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini, was a Palestinian from Gaza City, whose mother, Yassers paternal grandmother, was Egyptian. Arafats father battled in the Egyptian courts for 25 years to claim land in Egypt as part of his inheritance but was unsuccessful. He worked as a merchant in Cairos religiously mixed Sakakini District. Arafat was the second-youngest of seven children and was, along with his younger brother Fathi and his mother, Zahwa Abul Saud, was from a Jerusalem-based family. She died from an ailment in 1933, when Arafat was four years of age
15.
PLO Central Council
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The Palestinian Central Council, also known as PLO Central Council, is one of the institutions of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The PCC makes policy decisions when the Palestinian National Council is not in session, the PCC is acting as a link between the PNC and the PLO Executive Committee. The PCC is elected by the PNC after nomination by the PLO Executive, the membership has risen from 42,55,72,107,95 to 124. As of April 1996, the PCC consisted of 124 members from the PLO Executive Committee, PNC, PLC, on 5 January 2013, it was announced that the PLO had delegated the duties of the Palestinian Authority’s government and parliament to the Central Council
16.
Palestine Liberation Organization
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The Palestine Liberation Organization is an organization founded in 1964 with the purpose of the liberation of Palestine through armed struggle, with much of its violence aimed at Israeli civilians. The PLO was considered by the United States and Israel to be a terrorist organization until the Madrid Conference in 1991, at its first summit meeting in Cairo in 1964, the Arab League initiated the creation of an organization representing the Palestinian people. The Palestinian National Council convened in Jerusalem on 28 May 1964, concluding this meeting the PLO was founded on 2 June 1964. Its stated goal was the liberation of Palestine through armed struggle, the ideology of the PLO was formulated in the founding year 1964 in the Palestinian National Covenant. The document is a combative anti-Zionist statement dedicated to the restoration of the Palestinian homeland and it has no reference to religion. In 1968, the Charter was replaced by a revised version. Until 1993, the only promoted option was armed struggle, from the signing of the Oslo Accords, negotiation and diplomacy became the only official policy. In April 1996, a number of articles, which were inconsistent with the Oslo Accords, were wholly or partially nullified. They demanded that Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return to their homes and this article was adapted in 1996 to meet the Oslo Accords. Article 20 states, ″The Balfour Declaration, the Mandate for Palestine, claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history and the true conception of what constitutes statehood. Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality, nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own, they are citizens of the states to which they belong″. This article was nullified in 1996, the PLO has always labelled the Palestinian people as Arabs. This was a consequence of the fact that the PLO was an offshoot of the Arab League. It also has an element, as to keep the backing of Arab states. Over the years, the Arab identity remained the stated nature of the Palestinian State and it is a reference to the ″Arab State″ envisioned in the UN Partition Plan. The PLO and its dominating faction Fatah are often contrasted to more religious orientated factions like Hamas, all, however, represent a predominant Muslim population. Practically the whole population of the Territories is Muslim, most of them Sunni, the National Charter has no reference to religion. The draft Constitution, which never materialized, contains the same provisions, at the time, the PLC did not include a single Hamas member
17.
Palestinian Declaration of Independence
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The Palestinian Declaration of Independence is a statement written by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and proclaimed by Yasser Arafat on 15 November 1988. It had previously adopted by the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization. It was read at the session of the 19th Palestinian National Council to a standing ovation. Upon completing the reading of the declaration, Arafat, as Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization assumed the title of President of Palestine, in April 1989, the PLO Central Council elected Yasser Arafat the first President of the State of Palestine. The PLO was hence a government in exile between 1988 and 1994, in 2012, Palestine was upgraded to the status of non-member observer state in the UN. It references the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine of 1947, the Partition Plan served as the basis for Israels declaration of independence, but was not accepted by the Palestinian Arab leadership at the time. The 1988 declaration does not explicitly recognize the State of Israel, the declaration then proclaims a State of Palestine on our Palestinian territory with its capital Jerusalem. The borders of the state are not specified, the population of the state was referred to by the statement, The State of Palestine is the state of Palestinians wherever they may be. The state was defined as an Arab country by the statement, The State of Palestine is an Arab state, the declaration was accompanied by a PNC call for multilateral negotiations on the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 242. This call was later termed the Historic Compromise, as it implied acceptance of the two-state solution, the PNCs political communiqué accompanying the declaration called only for withdrawal from Arab Jerusalem and the other Arab territories occupied. As a result of the declaration, the United Nations General Assembly convened, inviting Yasser Arafat, one hundred and four states voted for this resolution, forty-four abstained, and two - the United States and Israel - voted against. By mid-December,75 states had recognised Palestine, rising to 93 states by February 1989, on 29 November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 67/19 upgrading Palestine to non-member observer state status in the United Nations. The draft resolution was proposed by Palestines representative at the United Nations and it, however, maintains the status of the Palestinian Liberation Organization as the representative of the Palestinian people within the United Nations system. On 31 December 2014, the United Nations Security Council voted down a resolution demanding the end of Israeli occupation, eight members voted for the Resolution. However the resolution did not get the minimum of nine votes needed to pass the resolution, australia and the United States voted against the resolution, with the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Nigeria, South Korea and Rwanda abstaining. Society and Settlement, Jewish Land of Israel in the Twentieth Century, State University of New York Press
18.
Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization
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The Chairman represents the PLO and the Palestinian people before the international community, such as the United Nations. The Chairman is chosen by the members of the PLO EC, the Palestinian Liberation Organization represents the People of the State of Palestine with UN Charter, Chapter XII. Article 85, UN Organ Administrator passing an Article 84 Resolution of November 22nd,1974 UNGA3236, the United Nations General Assembly acting under Chapter IV. Article 10 scope and powers passed November 22nd,1974, UNGA3237 Resolution granting the Palestinian Liberation Organization Observer Status at the United Nations, the United Nations General Assembly acting, once again, under Chapter IV. Article 10 scope and powers passed December 4th,2012, A/RES/67/19 Archived December 8,2015, granting the ph 5 UNGA181 State of Palestine Observer Status at United Nations. Yet, his resignation had to be approved by the Palestinian National Council, the parliament of the State of Palestine. A convention of the PNC was announced for 15 September, met with fierce criticism by many Palestinian factions, the National Councils first session in nearly 20 years had been postponed indefinitely. The Executive Committee members who announced their resignation were to continue to hold their positions until the PNC meets, official document signed by the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization
19.
Palestinians
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Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one half of the worlds Palestinian population continues to reside in historic Palestine, the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Israel. Of the Palestinian population who live abroad, known as the Palestinian diaspora, the history of a distinct Palestinian national identity is a disputed issue amongst scholars. Palestinian was used to refer to the nationalist concept of a Palestinian people by Palestinian Arabs in a limited way until World War I, Modern Palestinian identity now encompasses the heritage of all ages from biblical times up to the Ottoman period. Founded in 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization is an organization for groups that represent the Palestinian people before the international community. Since 1978, the United Nations has observed an annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, herodotus also employs the term as an ethnonym, as when he speaks of the Syrians of Palestine or Palestinian-Syrians, an ethnically amorphous group he distinguishes from the Phoenicians. Herodotus makes no distinction between the Jews and other inhabitants of Palestine, the Greek word reflects an ancient Eastern Mediterranean-Near Eastern word which was used either as a toponym or ethnonym. In Ancient Egyptian Peleset/Purusati has been conjectured to refer to the Sea Peoples, among Semitic languages, Akkadian Palaštu is used of Philistia and its 4 city states. Biblical Hebrews cognate word Plištim, is usually translated Philistines, the Arabic word Filastin has been used to refer to the region since the time of the earliest medieval Arab geographers. It appears to have used as an Arabic adjectival noun in the region since as early as the 7th century CE. The Arabic newspaper Falasteen, published in Jaffa by Issa and Yusef al-Issa, the first Zionist bank, the Jewish Colonial Trust, was founded at the Second Zionist Congress and incorporated in London in 1899. The JCT was intended to be the instrument of the Zionist Organization. On 27 February 1902, a subsidiary of this Trust called the Anglo-Palestine Company was established in London with the assistance of Zalman David Levontin and this Company was to become the future Bank Leumi. Following the 1948 establishment of Israel, the use and application of the terms Palestine and Palestinian by, for example, the English-language newspaper The Palestine Post, founded by Jews in 1932, changed its name in 1950 to The Jerusalem Post. Jews in Israel and the West Bank today generally identify as Israelis, Arab citizens of Israel identify themselves as Israeli and/or Palestinian and/or Arab. Anyone born, after that date, of a Palestinian father – whether in Palestine or outside it – is also a Palestinian. Thus, the Jews of Palestine were/are also included, although limited only to the Jews who had resided in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion. The Charter also states that Palestine with the boundaries it had during the British Mandate, is a territorial unit. The although the timing and causes behind the emergence of a distinctively Palestinian national consciousness among the Arabs of Palestine are matters of scholarly disagreement
20.
Palestinian National Authority
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Following elections in 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, its authority had extended only in areas A and B of the West Bank. Since January 2013, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority uses the name State of Palestine on official documents, the Palestinian Authority was formed in 1994, pursuant to the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the government of Israel, as a five-year interim body. Further negotiations were then meant to place between the two parties regarding its final status. The remainder of the territories, including Israeli settlements, the Jordan Valley region, East Jerusalem was excluded from the Accords. In the Palestinian legislative elections on 25 January 2006, Hamas emerged victorious, however, the national unity Palestinian government effectively collapsed, when a violent conflict between Hamas and Fatah erupted, mainly in the Gaza Strip. The move wasnt recognized by Hamas, thus resulting in two separate administrations – the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and a rival Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. The reconciliation process to unite the Palestinian governments achieved some progress over the years, the PA received financial assistance from the European Union and the United States. All direct aid was suspended on 7 April 2006, as a result of the Hamas victory in parliamentary elections, shortly thereafter, aid payments resumed, but were channeled directly to the offices of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. In November 2012, the United Nations voted to recognize Palestine as a non-member UN observer state, the Palestinian Authority was created by the Gaza–Jericho Agreement, pursuant to the 1993 Oslo Accords. The administrative responsibilities accorded to the PA were limited to civil matters and internal security, Palestinians in the diaspora and inside Israel were not eligible to vote in elections for the offices of the Palestinian Authority. General elections were held for its first legislative body, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the expiration of the bodys term was 4 May 1999, but elections were not held because of the prevailing coercive situation. Bush stated that the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of 2005 was unlikely due to instability and we will give the Palestinian Authority technical help by sending equipment, training people. We will give the Palestinian Authority helicopters and also communication equipment, the Palestinian Authority became responsible for civil administration in some rural areas, as well as security in the major cities of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This increased the percentage of land in the Gaza Strip nominally governed by the PA from 60 percent to 100 percent, Palestinian legislative elections took place on 25 January 2006. Hamas was victorious and Ismail Haniyeh was nominated as Prime Minister on 16 February 2006, Hamas rejected these demands, which resulted in the Quartet suspension of its foreign assistance program and Israel imposed economic sanctions. In an attempt to resolve the financial and diplomatic impasse, the Hamas-led government together with Fatah Chairman Mahmoud Abbas agreed to form a unity government, as a result, Haniyeh resigned on 15 February 2007 as part of the agreement. The unity government was formed on 18 March 2007 under Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and consisted of members from Hamas, Fatah and other parties. The situation in the Gaza strip however quickly deteriorated into a feud between the Hamas and Fatah, which eventually resulted in the Brothers War
21.
Palestinian territories
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Palestinian territories and occupied Palestinian territories are descriptions often used to describe the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which are occupied or otherwise under the control of Israel. Israeli governments have maintained that the area involved is within territorial dispute, the extent of the territories, while subject to future negotiations, have frequently been defined by the Green Line. In December 2012, UN Secretariat communications replaced this by the term State of Palestine, the ISO adopted the name change in 2013. But, as of August 2015, the UN Security Council continues to treat Palestine as a non-sovereign entity, Israel occupied the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War of 1967 and has since maintained control. Previously, these territories had been occupied by Jordan and Egypt, respectively, in 1980, Israel officially absorbed East Jerusalem and has proclaimed the whole of Jerusalem to be its capital. The inclusion, though never formally amounting to legal annexation, was condemned internationally and declared null, the Palestinian National Authority never exercised sovereignty over the area, although it housed its offices in Orient House and several other buildings as an assertion of its sovereign interests. Israel shut them down in response to the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing, Israeli sovereignty, however, has not been recognized by any country, since the unilateral annexation of territory occupied during war contravenes the Fourth Geneva Convention. The cost of the occupation for Israel over four decades is estimated to amount to $50 billion, the World Bank estimates the annual cost in 2013 to the Palestinian economy of Israeli occupation at $3.4 billion. In 1988, with the Palestine Liberation Organization intention to declare a Palestinian State, Jordan renounced all claims to the West Bank. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988,135 UN Member Nations have recognized the State of Palestine and it has not been recognized by Israel and some Western nations, including the United States. In 1993, following the Oslo Accords, parts of the territories politically came under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority, Israel still exercises full military control and, civil control over 61% of the West Bank. The Oslo Accords established access to the sea for Gaza within 20 nautical miles from the shore, the Berlin Commitment of 2002 reduced this to 12 miles. In October 2006 Israel imposed a 6-mile limit, and at the conclusion of the Gaza War restricted access to a 3-nautical-mile limit, as a result, more than 3,000 Palestinian fishermen are denied access to 85% of the maritime areas agreed to in 1995. The majority of the Dead Sea area is off-limits to Palestinian use, Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005, however the international community considers the West Bank and the Gaza Strip still to be occupied by Israel. The Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007 divided the Palestinian territories politically, abbass Fatah largely ruled the West Bank and was recognized internationally as the official Palestinian Authority. In 2014, the two groups agreed to hold elections and form a compromise unity government. The 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict intervened, however, the unity government survived, there are disagreements over what the Palestinian territories should be called. Other terms used to describe these areas include the disputed territories
22.
Palestinian general election, 1996
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They took place in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem on 20 January 1996. Following the elections, a government was formed, headed by the President of the Palestinian National Authority, as a result of this instability, new presidential and legislative elections were not held until nearly a decade later. There were no real strong conventional political parties in place before the election, the results were dominated by Fatah, the strongest movement within the Palestine Liberation Organization, which was headed by Yassir Arafat. Independent international observers reported the elections to have free and fair, however, boycotts by Hamas. The president was elected by a popular vote. Arafat won the election with 88.2 percent of the vote to Khalils 11.5 percent, the legislative election saw 88 PLC members elected from multi-member constituencies, with the number of representatives from each constituency determined by population. Some seats were set aside for the Christian and Samaritan communities,51 seats were allocated to the West Bank,37 to the Gaza Strip. Five out of 25 female candidates won a seat, the results were as follows, Despite considerable Israeli obstruction, the PCBS was able to arrange the necessary voter registration. Obstructions included long delays in providing maps and necessary information, insistence on Hebrew-only documents and they did all they could to hinder things in Jerusalem. In Gaza, six tons of voter cards were held up at the Erez crossing. They are held in the framework of the Oslo Accords, meaning that the power of the PNA was limited to such as culture, education, ID cards. Some view elections in the Palestinian Territories as little more than symbolic, political freedom is limited in the Palestinian Territories, checkpoints and separation walls are already fit to hinder all social activities. The parliament cannot function, merely because free travel is not possible, in addition to this, hostilities between Fatah and Hamas hinder the correct functioning of the parliament. Moreover, PNA and parliament do not represent the Palestinian diaspora
23.
United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19
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United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 is a resolution upgrading Palestine to non-member observer state status in the United Nations. The draft resolution was proposed by Palestines representative at the United Nations and it, however, maintains the status of the Palestinian Liberation Organization as the representative of the Palestinian people within the United Nations system. Though strongly contested by the United States and the government of Israel, the motion was seen as largely symbolic, though it could allow Palestine to start proceedings at the International Criminal Court against Israel. The new status equates Palestine with that of the Holy See within the United Nations system, on 22 November 1974, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 3237, inviting the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate at UNGA sessions in the capacity of an observer entity. The resolution also invited the PLO to participate in the work of all international conferences convened under the auspices of the UNGA, in resolution 43/177 of 15 December 1988, the UNGA acknowledged the proclamation of the state of Palestine by the Palestine National Council on 15 November 1988. In 2011, at the session of the United Nations General Assembly Fatahs Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked to join as a full member of the United Nations. The admission of any state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. However, the Palestine 194 initiative never went to a vote in the United Nations Security Council, furthermore, the United States indicated an intention to veto the resolution should it come to a vote. On 31 October 2011, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, the decision took effect on 23 November 2011 when Palestine ratified the UNESCO constitution. Begin a process of redemption and healing in Palestine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that resolution would make the goal of a state of Palestine more distant, Peace is only achieved through negotiations, not by unilateral declarations. He told the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, The Palestinians must recognize the Jewish state and these words were echoed by Ambassador Ron Prosor. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israeli reaction would be measured by Palestines reaction to the vote, Israeli former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wrote, I believe that the Palestinian request from the United Nations is congruent with the basic concept of the two-state solution. Therefore, I see no reason to oppose it and it is time to give a hand to, and encourage, the moderate forces amongst the Palestinians. Abu-Mazen and Salam Fayyad need our help, There was a rally in support of the Palestinian bid in Tel Avivs Rothschild Boulevard, which was organised by Gush Shalom, Peace Now, Hadash and Meretz. Former Foreign Ministry director Dr. Alon Liel said, As of today there is a Palestinian state, as of today we no longer control the life of a nation but the life of a separate state. Former Meretz MK Mossi Raz said, We call on Lieberman and Netanyahu, order the ambassador to say Israel yes. Netanyahu later downplayed the importance of the vote in saying that the decision at the United Nations will change nothing on the ground and it will not advance the establishment of a Palestinian state
24.
Fatah
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Fataḥ, formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement is a Palestinian nationalist political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization. Fatah is generally considered to have had an involvement in revolutionary struggle in the past and has maintained a number of militant groups. Fatah had been identified with the leadership of its founder Yasser Arafat. Since Arafats departure, factionalism within the ideologically diverse movement has become more apparent, in the 2006 parliamentary election, the party lost its majority in the Palestinian parliament to Hamas. However, the Hamas legislative victory led to a conflict between Fatah and Hamas, with Fatah retaining control of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank, the full name of the movement is حركة التحرير الوطني الفلسطيني ḥarakat al-taḥrīr al-waṭanī al-Filasṭīnī, meaning the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. From this was crafted the reverse acronym Fatḥ meaning opening, conquering, the word fatḥ or fatah is used in religious discourse to signify the Islamic expansion in the first centuries of Islamic history –as in Fatḥ al-Sham, the conquering of the Levant. Fatah also has significance in that it is the name of the 48th sura of the Quran which, according to major Muslim commentators. (During the peaceful two years after the Hudaybiyyah treaty, many converted to Islam, increasing the strength of the Muslim side and it was the breach of this treaty by the Quraysh that triggered the conquest of Mecca. This Islamic precedent was cited by Yasser Arafat as justification for his signing the Oslo Accords with Israel. The founders included Yasser Arafat, then head of the General Union of Palestinian Students at Cairo University, Salah Khalaf, Khalil al-Wazir, Fatah became the dominant force in Palestinian politics after the Six-Day War in 1967. Fatah joined the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1967 and it was immediately allocated 33 of 105 seats in the PLO Executive Committee. Founder Yasser Arafat became Chairman of the PLO in 1969, after the position was ceded to him by Yahya Hammuda. According to the BBC, Mr Arafat took over as chairman of the committee of the PLO in 1969. The towns name is the Arabic word for dignity, which elevated its symbolism to the Arab people, the operation was in response to attacks against Israel, including rockets strikes from Fatah and other Palestinian militias into the occupied West Bank. Knowledge of the operation was well ahead of time. On the night of 21 March, the IDF attacked Karameh with heavy weaponry, armored vehicles, Fatah held its ground, surprising the Israeli military. As Israels forces intensified their campaign, the Jordanian Army became involved, by the end of the battle, nearly 150 Fatah militants had been killed, as well as twenty Jordanian soldiers and twenty-eight Israeli soldiers. Despite the higher Arab death toll, Fatah considered themselves victorious because of the Israeli armys rapid withdrawal, after their victory in the Battle of Karameh, Fatah and other Palestinian militias began taking control of civil life in Jordan
25.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
26.
Agence France-Presse
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Agence France-Presse is an international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1944, AFP is the third largest news agency in the world, after the Associated Press, journalists of the French Resistance established the AFP in the headquarters of the former Office Français dInformation, a Vichy news agency, following the liberation of Paris. Currently, the CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and the News Director is Michèle Léridon, AFP has regional offices in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong, and Washington, D. C. and bureaux in 150 countries. AFP transmits news in French, English, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, the Agence Havas was founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent, Charles-Louis Havas as Agence Havas. Two of his employees, Paul Reuter and Bernhard Wolff, later set up rival news agencies in London and Berlin respectively and this arrangement lasted until the 1930s, when the invention of short-wave wireless improved and cut communications costs. To help Havas extend the scope of its reporting at a time of international tension. Established as an enterprise, AFP devoted the post-war years to developing its network of international correspondents. One of them was the first Western journalist to report the death of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin on March 6,1953, AFP was keen to shake off its semi-official status, and on January 10,1957 the French Parliament passed a law establishing its independence. Since that date, the proportion of the revenues generated by subscriptions from government departments has steadily declined. Such subscriptions represented 115 million Euros in 2011, in 1982, the agency began to decentralize its editorial decision-making by setting up the first of its five autonomous regional centres, in Hong Kong, then a British Crown colony. Each region has its own budget, administrative director and chief editor, in September 2007, the AFP Foundation was launched to promote higher standards of journalism worldwide. The Mitrokhin archive identified six agents and two confidential KGB contacts inside Agence France-Presse who were used in Soviet operations in France, in 1991, AFP set up a joint venture with Extel to create a financial news service, AFX News. It was sold in 2006 to Thomson Financial, in October 2008, the Government of France announced moves to change AFPs status, including the involvement of outside investors. On February 24,2010, Pierre Louette unexpectedly announced his intention to resign as CEO by the end of March, AFP is a government-chartered public corporation operating under a 1957 law, but is officially a commercial business independent of the French government. One is named by the minister, another by the minister of finance. The board elects the CEO for a term of three years. The AFP also has a council charged with ensuring that the agency operates according to its statutes, editorially, AFP is governed by a network of senior journalists. The primary client of AFP is the French government, which purchases subscriptions for its various services, in practice, those subscriptions are an indirect subsidy to AFP
27.
Palestinian presidential election, 2005
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The 2005 Palestinian presidential election — the first to be held since 1996 — took place on 9 January 2005 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Voters elected PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas to a term as the new President of the Palestinian Authority to replace Yasser Arafat. Abbas won over 62% of the votes cast, with independent Mustafa Barghouti coming second, on just under 20%, the election was boycotted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is strongest, it is estimated that half of the eligible voters voted. No presidential elections have taken place since 2005, Abbas has continued in office since the expiration of the term. Two weeks after the death of Arafat, Fatah nominated former PNA prime minister Mahmoud Abbas as its candidate, despite his lack of popular appeal. He was seen as the candidate who could hope to compete seriously against Abbas. However, his proposed candidacy met with resistance from Fatah activists, with his withdrawal, Mahmoud Abbas was seen as the clear favourite, with Mustafa Barghouti in second place. Opinion polls before Marwan Barghouti withdrew his candidacy suggested that the contest would largely be a race between him and Mahmoud Abbas. Details of some of these polls are as follows, Abbas 44% / Marwan Barghouti 46% Abbas 40% / Marwan Barghouti 38% Abbas 40% / Marwan Barghouti 22% Mahmoud Abbas - Palestine Liberation Organisation. Former Prime Minister and current chairman of the PLO, endorsed by the Fatah Revolutionary Council on November 25,2004, a democracy activist and head of the Palestinian National Initiative. His candidacy was supported by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, not to be confused with his cousin Marwan Barghouti. There were some problems, including those due to the incomplete electoral register. Persons not listed on the register were permitted to vote on presentation of a valid identity card. In view of the registration problems voting was extended for two hours beyond the appointed closing time. The head of the electoral commission subsequently resigned in protest, the election was observed by a number of international observers, including former President Jimmy Carter and U. S. Senators Joe Biden and John E. Sununu, the election campaign faced problems due to the widespread blockade of the Palestinian territories by the Israel Defense Forces. Despite Israels assurances that it would do what it could to ensure that the election took place, among reported incidents was the arrest of Mustafa Barghouti by Israeli forces and his subsequent expulsion from East Jerusalem when he was going to hold an election speech there
28.
Palestinian legislative election, 2006
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Elections for the second Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority, were held on 25 January 2006. The result was a victory for Hamas, who won with 74 seats of the 132 seats, the parliament was inaugurated on 18 February 2006. The election of 2006 marked the second time Palestinians elected members to the Palestine Legislative Council, Elections had been postponed for many years due to discord between Fatah and Hamas. 7&, Negative -28. 5% Support for a national unity government. Yes –81. 4%, no –18. 6% Rejection of Fatah’s decision not to join a national unity government, Yes –72. 5%, Hamas has come under increasing pressure to renounce its goal of eliminating Israel, but Hamas leaders have refused. However, new polling following the election indicates that two-thirds of Palestinians believe Hamas should change its policy of rejecting Israel’s right to exist, most also support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Post-election polls indicate that Hamas’ victory is due largely to Palestinians’ desire to end corruption in government rather than support for the political platform. The National Democratic Institute in partnership with The Carter Center reported a professional and impartial performance of election officials, the European Union delegation reported there was nothing which would indicate that the final result was not the outcome chosen by the voters. A CRS Report for Congress on the 2006 elections concluded, The election was overseen by 17,268 domestic observers, the Bush Administration accepted the outcome of the Palestinian legislative elections and praised the PA for holding free and fair elections. The conduct of the election was considered to be free. According to the results, Hamas won the majority of the constituency seats but was more narrowly ahead on the lists. Fatah did beat Hamas in the constituencies in Qalqilya, Rafah, jenin was split evenly, and Fatah won the seats reserved for Christians in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Ramallah. The Central Elections Commission said turnout was 74. 6%–76. 0% in the Gaza Strip and 73. 1% in the West Bank. The Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, resigned, but at the request of President Mahmoud Abbas, on 29 March 2006 a new government was formed by Hamas leader Ismail Haniya. After the capture of Gilad Shalit on 25 June 2006, Israel launched a series of raids into Gaza, Israel destroyed civilian infrastructure and arrested dozens of Hamas supporters, including elected cabinet ministers and members of the PLC. On 28 June overnight, the army invaded Gaza and performed airstrikes, bombing such as bridges. On 29 June, the IDF detained from the West Bank 8 ministers and 26 PLC members in addition to other political leaders. Most of the detainees were strong moderated members within Hamas, urging leaders in Gaza to recognise Israel, Hamas has accused Israel of trying to destroy the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. On 28 January 2006, Israel said it would prevent Hamas leaders, including newly elected PLC deputies, from travelling between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
29.
Palestinian local elections, 2012
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Local elections were held in the Palestinian territories on 20 October 2012, with a second part to be held on 24 November 2012. A total of 245 village councils,98 municipal councils and 10 local councils would be elected, local elections had originally been scheduled for 17 July 2010. On 10 June 2010 the government announced that all elections were cancelled. As a result of the cancellation, several lawsuits were filed against the government, on 13 December the High Court ruled that cancelling the elections was illegal. The government subsequently announced that elections would be held in 2011. They were originally scheduled for 9 July, before being postponed until 22 October due to the split between the West Bank controlled by Fatah and the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas. However, in August 2011, they were postponed indefinitely, on 10 July 2012 the government announced that local elections would be held on 20 October. Local elections were held in the West Bank on 20 October 2012, Fatah claimed victory after Hamas withdraw from elections. Voting took place in only 92 of the West Banks 353 municipalities, more than 80 villages were unable to produce candidate lists. In a further 181 districts, only one candidate list was registered rendering polling unnecessary. With 54.8 per cent of those eligible to vote turned out to cast their ballot Ms Nour Odeh, a persons right to vote cannot be held hostage to any political faction. Hamas Government in Gaza has refused to recognise the election as an expression of the Palestinian peoples will. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights also questioned the legitimacy of the polls, in light of the limiting of public freedoms and continuing widespread violations of human rights by the PA
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