What is the Palestinian Authority?
The Palestinian Authority (also known as the Palestinian National Authority, PA, or PNA) is an interim administrative body established in 1994 pursuant to the Oslo Accords—an agreement signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the State of Israel meant to effectively bring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to its end.
As part of the Oslo peace process, which was largely based on the two-state solution proposed by the UN in 1947, the Palestinian Authority was to take partial administrative and security responsibility for areas within the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as Israeli troops withdrew from those areas.
Israel was to hand over control of territories to the Palestinian Authority in stages, starting with the major towns and cities. The two governing bodies would then meet at the end of a five-year interim period to negotiate the most difficult issues of the final resolution of the conflict—such as the status of Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. As of yet, these final resolutions have not been made; thus, the PA continues to operate to this day.
Division of the West Bank
To begin withdrawal from the Palestinian Territories, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Israel agreed to subdivide the West Bank into “A”, “B”, and “C” areas. The distinct areas were given different statuses, according to their governance and the involvement of the Palestinian Authority pending a final status accord.
Area A
In Area A, the Palestinian Authority has full civil administrative responsibilities—like running courts, schools, municipal governments, and other services—and is also responsible for security. Area A is comprised of about 18% of the West Bank and includes eight Palestinian cities and their surrounding areas, including Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jericho, and 80 percent of Hebron. There are no illegal Israeli settlements in this area, as the entry of Israeli citizens is forbidden under Israeli law. The Israeli Defense Force abolished the prohibition against entering Area A during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. The IDF thus has the ability to enter the areas, mostly at night, to conduct raids to arrest suspected militants with no need for a search warrant. These raids are typically coordinated with the Palestinian security forces.
Area B
In Area B, the Palestinian Authority has full civil control, while joint Israeli-Palestinian patrols maintain internal security. As of 2013, Area B is made up of about 22% of the West Bank. This area includes roughly 440 Palestinian villages and their surrounding lands.
Area C
Area C makes up over 60% of the West Bank. Israeli military government exercises exclusive control of security and civil administrative responsibilities, including planning, construction, and law enforcement. The land has largely been allocated to Israeli settlements, military bases, and bypass roads, which affects the daily lives of the nearly 300,000 Palestinians living within the Area and divides the PA-controlled areas into dozens of tiny territories. Furthermore, Area C contains the majority of natural resources and open spaces in the West Bank, yet 99% of the land is excluded from Palestinian use.
Division of the Gaza Strip
In the Gaza Strip, Area A—under full civil and security control of the Palestinian Authority—consisted of about 70% of the territory, with Israeli military forces controlling 30% of the remaining territory. In 2005, Israel officially withdrew from settlements in Gaza.
Palestinian Governance and Recent History
The Palestinian Authority is led by a re’ees—Arabic for “head” or “president”—who is directly elected, in theory, once every four years. The first ra’ees was Yasser Arafat, who was elected in 1994 with an overwhelming 88% of the vote. Following Arafat’s death in 2004, Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) was elected in January 2005 with 62% of the vote. He has served as PA president ever since. There have not been any subsequent elections since. The president or re’ees is also responsible for nominating the PA’s prime minister, who must be confirmed by the Palestinian Legal Council (PLC).
The Palestinian Legal Council, commonly referred to as the Palestinian Parliament, was established in 1996 to serve as the Palestinian Authority’s legislative body. This 88-member council was elected by Palestinian citizens in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, and has worked extensively to implement democratic reforms within the Palestinian Authority. Elections held in 2006 expanded the council to 132 members elected from 16 districts in the West Bank and Gaza; however, Hamas, Palestine’s radical wing of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, won 76 seats to the long-dominant Palestinian political party Fatah’s, 43—taking control of the PLC, which led to subsequent violence between the opposing political factions.
Fatah-Hamas Split and Attempts at Reconciliation
As a result of the 2006 PLC elections, factional violence broke out between Fatah and Hamas in 2007. Fatah military commanders refused to take orders from their rivals, and Fatah and Hamas were unable to compromise and reach an agreement on sharing powers. In 2007, Hamas forces pushed Fatah from the Gaza Strip in a bloody takeover. Fatah responded by taking action against Hamas in the West Bank. This led to a divide in control of Palestine: the Gaza Strip being largely controlled by Hamas; the West Bank being controlled by the Fatah-led PA.
In 2014, the two parties signed a reconciliation agreement and formed a new technocratic government; however, in practice, this reconciliation has not been successful. Hamas still controls the entirety of the Gaza Strip, while the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority controls the West Bank.
Future of the Palestinian Authority
Although created by the PLO, the PA has essentially surpassed the PLO in terms of political importance. Abroad, many consider Mahmoud Abbas as the “President of the State of Palestine” and “President of the Palestinian Authority.” Additionally, since its foundation, the PA has been much more politically active than the PLO—holding two presidential elections, two parliamentary elections, and two municipal elections; while the PLO’s main policy-setting body has not met since 1996. Many Palestinians are wary of this trend because, unlike the PLO, the PA only represents citizens in the West Bank and Gaza. It does not recognize Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinian refugees, whose voices are only represented by the PLO.
In 2012, the UN held a historic vote to recognize the Palestinian representative office as, “The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations.” In accordance, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority has adopted the name “State of Palestine” for use on official documents as of 2013.
