Amendment of the Palestinian National Charter

Source: Palestinian National Authority (PNA)
http://www.pna.gov.ps

Letter from Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to Prime Minister Shimon Peres

May 4, 1996

Mr. Shimon Peres
Prime Minister of Israel

Dear Mr. Peres,

I convey my best wishes to your excellency, and I would like to convey to you the recent historic resolution adopted by the Palestinian National Council at its 21st session held in Gaza city.

As part of our commitment to the peace process, and in adhering to the mutual recognition between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Government of Israel, the P.N.C. was held in Gaza city between 22-25 of April 1996, and in an extraordinary session decided that the Palestine National Charter is hereby amended by cancelling the provisions that are contrary to the letters exchanged between the P.L.O. and the government of Israel on 9/10 Sept. 1993.

Please find enclosed copies of the official Arabic and English texts of the P.N.C.’s resolutions.

We remain committed to the peace process.

Gaza: 4/5/1996

Yasser Arafat
Chairman of the Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization
President of the Palestinian National Authority

OFFICIAL TRANSLATION

The Palestinian National Council, at its 21st session held in the city of Gaza,

Emanating from the declaration of independence and the political statement adopted at its 19th session held in Algiers on Nov. 15, 1988, which affirmed the resolution of conflicts by peaceful means and accepted the two states solution,

And based on the introduction of the Declaration of Principles signed in Washington D.C. on 13 September 1993, which included the agreement of both sides to put an end to decades of confrontation and conflict and to live in peaceful coexistence, mutual dignity and security, while recognizing their mutual legitimate and political right,

And reaffirming their desire to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement and historic reconciliation through the agreed political process,

And based on international legitimacy represented by the United Nations Resolutions relevant to the Palestinian question, including those relating to Jerusalem, Refugees and Settlements, and the other issues of the permanent status and the implementation of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338,

And affirming the adherence of the Palestine Liberation Organization to its commitments deriving from the D.O.P. (Oslo 1), the provisional Cairo Agreement, the letter of mutual recognition signed on 9 and 10 September 1993, the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (Oslo 2) signed in Washington D.C. on 28 September 1995, and reconfirm the resolution of the central Council of the P.L.O. adopted in October 1993, which approved the Oslo Agreement and all its annexes,

And based on the principles which constituted the foundation of the Madrid Peace Conference and the Washington negotiations, decides:

1. The Palestinian National Charter is hereby amended by canceling the articles that are contrary to the letters exchanged between the P.L.O. and the Government of Israel 9-10 September 1993.

2. Assigns its legal committee with the task of redrafting the Palestinian National Charter in order to present it to the first session of the Palestinian central council.

Included among the Israeli prime minister's list of current conditions for implementing further redeployments from the West Bank, as agreed, is the demand that the Palestine National Council be convened in order to nullify the articles of the National Charter which refer to Israel's destruction.

In April 1996, the Palestine National Council met in a special session in Gaza City, for the first time on Palestinian territory, with the top item on the agenda being the need to amend the National Charter. Such an amendment can only be authorized by a two-thirds vote of the Council; some key members such as Farouq Qaddoumi, boycotted the session to protest against changing the Charter. However, ultimately the abrogation of certain sections was approved and the matter of drafting amended sections was passed to the PNC's legal committee.

On three different occasions, the Palestinian Authority president has handed over a formal letter certifying the abrogation of specific articles of the Charter: once to then Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres; once recently to Derek Fatchett, minister for foreign affairs for Britain in its capacity as president of the European Union; and once to US president Bill Clinton in late January. On all three occasions, Palestinian fulfillment of their commitment to abrogate parts of the Charter was declared satisfactorily fulfilled.

Twelve articles have been entirely annulled, along with sections of an additional 16.

In his letter to secretary of state Albright, Arafat specified the articles, which had been fully abrogated, emphasizing that they would not be present in any future official printing of the Charter. Those fully nullified are articles: 6-10, 15, 19-23, and 30. The articles, which have been nullified in part, are: 1-5,11-14,16-18,25-27, and 29.

Palestinian Vision for the Outcome of permanent Status Negotiations

Text of non paper presenting Palestinian vision for the outcome of permanent status negotiations June 15th, 2002.

Non Paper
Palestinian Vision for the Outcome of Permanent Status Negotiations Based on the Arab Peace Plan

At this critical time when the international community, is seeking to formulate a comprehensive policy regarding the Middle East, The PA believes that it is important to convey the Palestinian vision for ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. A vision based on the Arab initiative declared by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and adopted unanimously by the Arab summit in Beirut.While many creative and constructive ideas regarding ending the current crisis are being presented, we believe that these
ideas will not succeed if they are not accompanied by a clear political horizon that will rekindle hope in a permanent peace based on a negotiated solution.

The Palestinian clarifications described below had been discussed with our Arab friends, in particular Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan, all of whom share our opinion regarding the centrality of a vision of peace to the success of any efforts.

The Arab Peace Initiative of March 2002 forms our basic terms of reference. This initiative along with the vision of President Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell’s speech of November 2001, and UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, and 1397, are the bases of the Palestinian vision for a permanent status agreement between Palestine and Israel. According to these bases, the following are the main elements of our vision:

* The borders between the state of Palestine and the state of Israel will be the June 4th 1967 Armistice Line, though the two sides may agree to minor, reciprocal, and equal boundary rectifications that do not affect, among other things, territorial contiguity. The Palestinian and Israeli sides shall have no territorial claims beyond the June 4, 1967 borders. These borders will be the permanent boundaries between the two states.

* There will be a permanent territorial corridor established between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip sections of the state of Palestine.

* East Jerusalem will become the capital of the state of Palestine and West Jerusalem will become the capital of the State of Israel.

* Jerusalem, which is venerated by the three monotheistic religions, will remain open to all peoples.

* The Palestinian side will transfer sovereignty over the Jewish Quarter and the Wailing Wall section of the Western Wall in East Jerusalem to Israel, while retaining sovereignty over the remainder of the Old City.

* Palestine and Israel will establish security cooperation arrangements that preserve the integrity and sovereignty of each state. International forces will play a central role in these arrangements. In addition, the two sides will strive to establish a regional security regime.

* Neither Palestine nor Israel will participate in military alliances against each other, or allow their territory to be used as a military base of operation against each other or against other neighbors. No foreign troops may be stationed in the territory of either state unless otherwise specified
in the permanent status agreement or subsequently agreed to by the two parties. Palestine and Israel’s respective sovereignty and independence will be guaranteed by formal agreements with members of the international community.

* In accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative of March 2002, there will be a just and agreed solution to the Palestinian refugee problem based on UN General Assembly Resolution 194.

* The issue of water will be resolved in a just and equitable manner in accordance with international treaties and norms.

* Palestine and Israel will be democratic states with free market economies.

* The comprehensive permanent status agreement will mark the end of conflict between Palestine and Israel, and its complete implementation will mark the end of claims between them.

Naturally, the realization of this vision requires a parallel process that will create concrete and positive developments on the ground. These will require a policy of de-escalation, de-occupation, ensuring the protection of Palestinian and Israeli peoples in accordance with the rule of law, and the gradual introduction of attributes of sovereignty to buttress and prepare the ground for a permanent status agreement.

There should be a fixed timeline for this process with guaranteed diplomatic involvement in order to ensure that the process does not stall. Part of preparing for eventual Palestinian statehood requires internal Palestinian restructuring, which we have already embarked on in the political, financial, and security fields. In the security realm, the ideas suggested by CIA Director George Tenet will be the basis for our efforts.

Palestinian Media Watch has been playing the critical role of documenting the contradictions between the image the Palestinians present to the world in English and the messages to their own people in Arabic. (http://www.pmw.org.il/about.html)