Palestine Has Been Writing a "Temporary" Constitution for Over Twenty-Five Years — And It's Still Temporary
Palestine — Basic Law Profile
| 📅 Basic Law Passed | 1997 — ratified 2002 |
| 🏛️ Status | Temporary Basic Law, awaiting permanent constitution |
| 🌍 Administrative Center | Ramallah (West Bank) |
| 📄 Total Articles | 121 |
| ✏️ Amended | 2003 (major) and 2005 (minor) |
| 📜 New Draft Published | February 2026 — 162 articles |
Most countries write a constitution once their state actually exists. Palestine has spent more than two and a half decades doing something almost the opposite — writing and rewriting a governing document for a state that, legally and practically, is still in the process of becoming one. The document everyone calls Palestine's "constitution" has, by its own wording, never actually claimed to be permanent.
It Was Designed From Day One to Be Temporary
The very first line of explanation about this document tells you everything about how it was meant to function. The Palestinian Basic Law is to function as a temporary constitution for the Palestinian Authority until the establishment of an independent state and a permanent constitution for Palestine can be achieved.
That single sentence has effectively defined Palestinian constitutional life for almost thirty years now. The provisions of this Basic Law shall apply during the interim period and may be extended until the entry into force of the new Constitution of the State of Palestine. A law written to bridge a gap that nobody could have predicted would still be open a quarter-century later.
It Took Five Years Just to Get Signed
Even getting this temporary document formally into force wasn't quick. The Basic Law was passed by the Palestinian Legislative Council in 1997 and ratified by President Yasser Arafat in 2002. One report at the time captured the frustration around the delay plainly: "Palestinians had been requesting that the law be signed into effect since 1997, in order to formally guarantee a modicum of basic rights."
Five years between a legislature passing a law and a president actually signing it is an unusually long gap by almost any standard — and it tells you something about how complicated even the basic mechanics of governance were during that period.
The Document Carved Out Space for a Job That Didn't Exist Yet
Once the Basic Law was finally in force, it didn't stay untouched for long. The first major change reshaped the entire structure of the government. It has subsequently been amended twice; in 2003 the political system was changed to introduce a prime minister.
The 2003 reform was comprehensive and affected the whole nature of the Palestinian political system, whereas the 2005 amendment was only minor and affected only a few paragraphs. A role that hadn't existed at all in the original 1997 text was, within just a few years, written into the heart of the entire governing structure.
A Real, Permanent Constitution Was Actually Being Written at the Same Time — Then Quietly Set Aside
What's easy to miss is that Palestinians weren't only patching the temporary law. There was a separate, parallel attempt to write the real thing. A parallel effort has been made to draft a permanent Palestinian constitution for an independent state, but this was shelved in favor of amending the existing Basic Law.
In other words, at some point the choice was made to keep fixing the interim document rather than finish the permanent one. That decision — made years ago — is part of why the "temporary" Basic Law is still the operative law of the land today.
The Law Itself Explains Exactly Why It Exists
The Basic Law's own preamble doesn't hide the fact that it's a product of an unfinished political process. Within the framework of the interim period, resulting in the Declaration of Principles Agreement, the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority with its three pillars — the legislative, executive and judicial branches — became among the most urgent of national missions.
It then states its purpose almost as plainly as a legal document ever does: this temporary Basic Law draws its strength from the will of the Palestinian people, their firm rights, their continuous struggle and the exercise of their democratic right ... to commence the organization and establishment of a sound, democratic and legislative life in Palestine.
You Cannot Simply Amend It on a Whim
For a document explicitly labeled temporary, the Basic Law actually built in a fairly demanding bar for changing it. The provisions of this Amended Basic Law may not be amended except by a majority vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Two-thirds is not a low threshold in any legislature, anywhere. It's the kind of requirement usually reserved for a country's most serious, foundational legal text — which, for the Palestinian Authority, is precisely the role this "interim" document has ended up playing for far longer than originally planned.
A New Draft Just Appeared — And It's Considerably Longer
The story took its most recent turn very recently. In February 2026, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas published a draft constitution for a proposed Palestinian state, and invited Palestinian citizens, civil society institutions, political forces, experts and academics to comment on the draft.
The draft includes 162 articles and, according to Anadolu Agency, is "based on the philosophy and spirit of the Declaration of Independence adopted by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1988." That's 41 more articles than the current 121-article Basic Law — a noticeably more detailed document than the one Palestinians have lived under since 1997.
One Palestinian legal scholar reviewing the new text was enthusiastic about the process itself. Palestinian legal scholar Ahmad al-Ashqar praised the draft constitution as "excellent" and called for prompt public and institutional feedback, followed by a general referendum among Palestinians at home and abroad, as provided in Article 162.
Constitution at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Basic Law Passed by PLC | 1997 |
| Ratified by President Arafat | 2002 |
| Major Amendment (Prime Minister Role Created) | 2003 |
| Minor Amendment (Election Law Alignment) | 2005 |
| Total Articles (Current Basic Law) | 121 |
| Amendment Threshold | Two-thirds majority of the Legislative Council |
| Legislative Council Seats | 88 members |
| New Draft Constitution Published | February 2026 |
| New Draft Total Articles | 162 |
| Official Language | Arabic |
📥 Read Palestine's Basic Law
Read the complete, official English text of the Amended Basic Law of the Palestinian National Authority:
👉 Read the Palestinian Basic Law — Full Text
A constitution that has called itself "temporary" for almost thirty years, with a brand new 162-article draft now open for public comment. What part of this story surprised you most? Tell us in the comments below.
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