Didn't you say that there was no Palestine.
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Don't you still pretend there was a ''country of Pal'istan'' invented by the Treaty of Lausanne'' as opposed to Palestine being simply a loosely defined geographic area?







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Didn't you say that there was no Palestine.
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“I have found Jews to be more broad-minded than most whites on issues of race and politics. Perhaps because they themselves have historically been victims of prejudice.”
Nelson Mandela
“There’s a feeling that the Palestinian Authority is no longer in control. There are too many armed men and thugs who are acting as if they are in charge.”
Palestinian academic from Ramallah
Noura Erakat and Lara Elborno, two Palestinian international lawyers, discuss the law and Palestine.
Once established, the PLC legislated a number of laws, the most relevant in this context being the PA “Basic Law” as amended in 2003 and 2005 which, inter alia, set the fundamental principles of the PA political system.“In order that the Palestinian people of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip may govern themselves according to democratic principles, direct, free and general political elections will be held for the Council and the Ra'ees of the Executive Authority of the Council…”
The PLC“The people are the source of power, which shall be exercised through the legislative, executive and judicial authorities, based upon the principle of separation of powers and in the manner set forth in this Basic Law.”
Interesting, however there are some things to note.The following is a broader explanation of the moves made by Abbas:
Since the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords - a generic name for the accords signed between 1993 and 1996 between Israel and the PLO - many countries have come to see the PA - created as part of the accords - as the embodiment of the Palestinian leadership. For that reason, the international community has poured tens of billions of dollars of aid into the PA, enabling it to form ministries and institutions, and empowering it to assume the mantle of Palestinian democracy.
Among the institutions created was the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), which functioned as the PA Parliament. Elections for the PLC, in which the Palestinian people would be able to elect their representatives, were to be held every 4 years. While the first elections were held in 1996, the next elections were only held in 2006 – ten years later. Since then, no elections for the PLC have been held. In the 2006 elections, Hamas – an internationally designated terrorist organization – won the outright majority of seats, both in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria.
Abbas, now almost 87 years old, was elected as PA chairman in 2005, and is now in his 18th year of his first 4-year term. As Palestinian Media Watch has already noted, when Abbas leaves the scene, the Palestinians are likely to face a leadership vacuum that will most probably precipitate instability and even potential turmoil.
From Abbas’ perspective, the situation is further complicated by the fact, as PMW exposed, that Palestinian polls predict that if general elections are held, his Fatah party, which has controlled the PA since its creation, would lose control and Hamas would most likely win the majority of seats in the PA Parliament. If elections for the position of PA Chairman were held, either Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh or convicted terrorist murderer Marwan Barghouti - who is in an Israeli prison serving 5 life sentences for his part in the murder of 5 people - would be elected chairman.
To deliberately confuse the situation, Abbas made some of the decisions in his capacity as Head of the PLO (referred to within the PLO as “Chairman of the Executive Committee”) while making others in his capacity as Chairman of the Palestinian Authority.
Possibly with the goal of hiding his true intentions, some of the decisions Abbas made were widely publicized, while others were more subtle and were taken and implemented far from the public eye so that most Palestinians and, more importantly, the international community would not be aware of the change.
Change one: Dissolving the PLC and the approval of “Laws by Decree”
One of the most important and brazen moves made by Abbas was his decision in December 2018 to dissolve the PLC. This decision was quickly followed by a decision to officially abandon the law seen as the PA’s constitution - The PA Basic Law - and replace it with the PLO constitution as the basis for legislating temporary laws and as the basis for their ratification. While the decision to dissolve the parliament was very public, the second decision was implemented in a manner that was mostly hidden from public view.
In order to understand the changes made, one must first understand some of the complexities of the Palestinian political system and the previous situation.
Since the mid 1970’s, the PLO was internationally recognized as the “sole representative of the Palestinian people”. Accordingly, when Israel entered into the Oslo Accords, its counterpart was the PLO.
The Oslo Accords, particularly articles III, IV and V, of Chapter 1, of the 1995 Israel-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (the Interim agreement) provided for the creation of the PLC and the PA “Executive Authority” (later referred to by the Palestinians as the “PA cabinet”).
Article II(1) of the Interim agreement provided the foundation for the elections of the PLC and the “Ra’ees” (an Arabic term that can mean President, Leader Chairman or Chief):
Once established, the PLC legislated a number of laws, the most relevant in this context being the PA “Basic Law” as amended in 2003 and 2005 which, inter alia, set the fundamental principles of the PA political system.
Echoing the Oslo Accords, Article 2 of the Basic Law provides:
The PLC
(full article online)
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Abbas’ moves to consolidate Fatah’s dictatorial dominance over the Palestinian Authority | PMW Analysis
Abbas’ moves to consolidate Fatah’s dictatorial dominance over the Palestinian Authoritypalwatch.org
Interesting, however there are some things to note.
Abbas quit the PA in June of 2007. He just walked away. He then, with the help of foreign powers, established an illegal coup government in the West Bank.
Terms of service
The president's term of service is four years and can only serve two terms.
The government (the PM and his cabinet) serve at the pleasure of the president. The president has the authority to dismiss the government, (that Abbas did in June of 2007) however that government stays in office until a new government is approved by the PLC. There is no time limit. The last legal government that was approved by the PLC was in March of 2007.
There are supposed to be PLC elections every four years. However, PLC members hold their seat until replaced in an election. There is no time limit.
There will not be a vacuum of leadership. When Abbas leaves, the speaker of the PLC is to temporarily assume that office and call for elections in 60 days.
I will bet anything that foreign powers will not allow that to happen. They are already trying to decide who to install as Palestine's new leader.
Interesting, however there are some things to note.
Abbas quit the PA in June of 2007. He just walked away. He then, with the help of foreign powers, established an illegal coup government in the West Bank.
Terms of service
The president's term of service is four years and can only serve two terms.
The government (the PM and his cabinet) serve at the pleasure of the president. The president has the authority to dismiss the government, (that Abbas did in June of 2007) however that government stays in office until a new government is approved by the PLC. There is no time limit. The last legal government that was approved by the PLC was in March of 2007.
There are supposed to be PLC elections every four years. However, PLC members hold their seat until replaced in an election. There is no time limit.
There will not be a vacuum of leadership. When Abbas leaves, the speaker of the PLC is to temporarily assume that office and call for elections in 60 days.
I will bet anything that foreign powers will not allow that to happen. They are already trying to decide who to install as Palestine's new leader.
In 2006 Hamas won the nationwide elections. By 2007 Fatah was ruling the West Bank. How did that happen?Your ''illegal coup government'' conspiracy theory is a hoot.
''Nationwide elections''? Now that's funny.In 2006 Hamas won the nationwide elections. By 2007 Fatah was ruling the West Bank. How did that happen?