The
Palestinian National Authority (
PA or
PNA;
Arabic: السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية
as-Sulṭa al-Waṭanīya al-Filasṭīnīya), commonly known as the
Palestinian Authority and officially the
State of Palestine,
[5] is the
Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over
West Bank areas "A" and "B"as a consequence of the 1993–1995
Oslo Accords.
[1][6][7] The Palestinian Authority controlled the
Gaza Strip prior to the
Palestinian elections of 2006 and the subsequent
Gaza conflictbetween the
Fatah and
Hamas parties, when it lost control to Hamas; the PA continues to claim the Gaza Strip, although Hamas exercises
de facto control. Since January 2013, the Palestinian Authority has used the name "State of Palestine" on official documents, although the
United Nations continues to recognize the
Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the "representative of the Palestinian people".
[8]
The Palestinian Authority was formed in 1994, pursuant to the
Gaza–Jericho Agreement between the PLO and the government of
Israel, and was intended to be a five-year
interim body. Further negotiations were then meant to take place between the two parties regarding its final status. According to the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority was designated to have exclusive control over both security-related and civilian issues in Palestinian urban areas (referred to as "
Area A") and only civilian control over Palestinian rural areas ("
Area B"). The remainder of the territories, including
Israeli settlements, the
Jordan Valley region and bypass roads between
Palestiniancommunities, were to remain under Israeli control ("
Area C").
East Jerusalem was excluded from the Accords. Negotiations with several Israeli governments had resulted in the Authority gaining further control of some areas, but control was then lost in some areas when the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) retook several strategic positions during the
Second ("Al-Aqsa") Intifada. In 2005, after the Second Intifada, Israel
withdrew unilaterally from its settlements in the Gaza Strip, thereby expanding Palestinian Authority control to the entire strip
[9]while Israel continued to control the
crossing points, airspace, and the waters of the Gaza Strip's coast.
[10]
In the
Palestinian legislative elections on 25 January 2006,
Hamas emerged victorious and nominated
Ismail Haniyeh as the Authority's Prime Minister. However, the national unity Palestinian government effectively collapsed, when a violent conflict between Hamas and Fatah erupted, mainly in the Gaza Strip. After the
Gaza Strip was taken over by Hamas on 14 June 2007, the Authority's Chairman
Mahmoud Abbasdismissed the
Hamas-led unity government and appointed
Salam Fayyad as
Prime Minister, dismissing Haniyeh. The move wasn't 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, but had failed to produce a re-unification.
The Palestinian Authority received financial assistance from the
European Union and the United States (approximately US$1 billion combined in 2005). All direct aid was suspended on 7 April 2006, as a result of the
Hamas victory in parliamentary elections.
[11][12] Shortly thereafter, aid payments resumed, but were channeled directly to the offices of
Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.
[13] Since 9 January 2009, when Mahmoud Abbas' term as president was supposed to have ended and elections were to have been called, Hamas supporters and many in the Gaza Strip have withdrawn recognition for his presidency and instead consider
Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the
Palestinian Legislative Council, to be the acting president until new elections can be held.
[14][15]
The
State of Palestine has become recognized by
138 nations and since November 2012, the
United Nationsvoted to recognize the State of Palestine as a
non-member UN observer state.
[16][17][18] The Palestinian Authority is an
authoritarian regime that has not held elections in over 15 years; it has been criticized for
human rights abuses, including cracking down on
journalists,
human rights activists, and dissent against its rule.
[19]
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