Government of Palestine

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The government of Palestine (Arabic: حكومة فلسطين) is the government of the Palestinian Authority or the State of Palestine. Since June 2007, there have been two separate administrations in Palestine, one in the West Bank and the other in the Gaza Strip.

Formation22 September 1948 (1948-09-22) (first form)
5 July 1994 (1994-07-05) (current form)
Founding documentBasic Law of Palestine
Country Palestine
Quick facts Formation, Founding document ...
Government of the State of Palestine
حكومة دولة فلسطين
Formation22 September 1948 (1948-09-22) (first form)
5 July 1994 (1994-07-05) (current form)
Founding documentBasic Law of Palestine
Country Palestine
Legislative branch
LegislaturePalestinian Legislative Council
SpeakerSpeaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council
Assembly members132
Meeting placeLegislative Council Building, Ramallah, Palestine
Executive branch
Head of statePresident of Palestine
Head of governmentPrime Minister of Palestine
Appointed byPresident of Palestine
HeadquartersRamallah, Palestine
Main organCabinet of Palestine
Judicial branch
CourtSupreme Court of Palestine [ar]
Chief JusticePresident of the Supreme Court of Palestine
SeatSupreme Court Building, Ramallah, Palestine
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The Fatah government in the West Bank was generally recognised as the Palestinian Authority Government. The Fatah-dominated Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (EC) is the highest executive body of the Palestine Liberation Organization and acts as the government. On the other hand, the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip also claimed to be the legitimate government of the Palestinian Authority.

Until June 2014, when the Palestinian Unity Government was formed, the government in the West Bank was the Fatah-dominated Palestinian government of 2013. In the Gaza Strip, the government was the Hamas government of 2012. Following two Fatah–Hamas Agreements in 2014, on 25 September 2014 Hamas agreed to let the PA Government resume control over the Gaza Strip and its border crossings with Egypt and Israel. However, that agreement had broken down by June 2015, after President Abbas said the PA government was unable to operate in the Gaza Strip.

History

The following organizations have claimed or exercised authority over the Palestinian people or a Arab state in Palestine in the past:

PNA governments

Palestinian National Authority was formally an interim administrative body established by the PLO pursuant to the Oslo Accords of 1993. Pursuant to the Oslo Accords, the PA Government had only authority over some civil rights of the Palestinians in the West Bank Areas A and B and in the Gaza Strip, and over internal security in Area A and in Gaza. One of the security tasks was the security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which among other things aimed at the prevention of Palestinian attacks on the Israeli army and settlers. Until 2007 it exercised control of populated areas in Area A and B of the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip:

Split of Fatah and Hamas

Since June 2007, the Fatah-led government has exercised authority in Ramallah, West Bank, and has been recognized as the official government of the Palestinian Authority; while since Hamas took control in the Gaza Strip, it has exercised de facto control there, ousting Fatah PNA representatives in June 2007.

  • Fatah government in the West Bank
  • Governance of the Gaza Strip
    • First Hamas government 2007–12 (Hamas Administration in Gaza)
    • Second Hamas government September 2012–14 (Hamas Administration in Gaza)
    • Third Hamas government 2016–present is the Gaza-based Hamas-dominated de facto government in Gaza. It is made up of Deputy Ministers, Directors General and other high-level officials, not directly bound to the Ramallah administration. It was initially speculated that the 2016 Hamas government is an attempt by Ismail Haniyeh to return to full control of the Gaza enclave. The United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan and Israel classify Hamas as a terrorist organization and do not recognize the government. Hamas government is not recognized by the Ramallah administration of the State of Palestine.
  • Palestinian Unity Government
    • The Palestinian Unity Government was formed on 2 June 2014, following the Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation Agreement of 23 April 2014. However, the Government was not presented for approval by the Legislative Council, leading to its legitimacy being questioned. The ministers were nominally independent, but overwhelmingly seen as loyal to President Abbas and his Fatah movement or to smaller leftist factions, none of whom were believed to have close ties to Hamas. A feature of this government is the appointment of Deputy Ministers, Directors General and other high-level officials for Gaza, and not directly bound to the Ramallah administration. The government of 2014 resigned on 17 June 2015, under protest from Hamas which was not consulted.[6][7] In July and December 2015, Abbas reshuffled the cabinet and appointed new ministers without consulting Hamas, which was denounced by Hamas. Although Hamas did not recognize the new ministers and rejected the changes, the reshuffling was called "technical and not political",[8] and the new cabinet was presented as a slightly changed existing government, still called "consensus government".[9]

2024 Beijing Declaration

Following talks mediated by China, on 23 July 2024, Palestinian groups including Hamas and Fatah reached an agreement to end their divisions and form an interim unity government, which they announced in the "Beijing Declaration".[10] The agreement was designed to address governance for "the day after" a ceasefire with Israel.[10]

Gaza Strip under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803

A peace plan agreed by both Hamas and the Israeli government includes provisions for a Board of Peace and National Committee for the Administration of Gaza to administer the Gaza Strip for a transitional period, before turning over administration to a reformed Palestinian Authority.[11][12]

Current Cabinet of Palestine

More information #, Office ...
# Office Portrait Name Party Took office
1 Prime Minister Muhammad Abdullah Muhammad Mustafa Independent 31 March 2024
2 Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Farsin Ohanes Vartan Aghabikan Independent 23 June 2025
3 Minister of Justice Sharhabeel Youssef Saad al-Din al-Zaim Independent 31 March 2024
4 Minister of Interior Ziad Mahmoud Muhammad Hab al-Rih Fatah 1 January 2022
5 Minister of Finance and Planning Estephan Salameh Independent 15 December 2025
6 Minister of Local Government Sami Ahmed Arif Hijjawi Independent 31 March 2024
7 Minister of Health Majid Awni Muhammad Abu Ramadan Independent 31 March 2024
8 Minister of Education and Higher Education Amjad Saad Suleiman Barham Independent 31 March 2024
9 Minister of Labor Enas Hosni Abdel Ghani Attari Independent 31 March 2024
10 Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Muhammad Mustafa Muhammad Najm Independent 31 March 2024
11 Minister of Industry Arafat Hussein Suleiman Asfour Independent 31 March 2024
12 Minister of National Economy Muhammad Youssef Muhammad al-Amour Independent 31 March 2024
13 Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Economy Abdel Razek Maher Abdel Razek Natsheh Independent 31 March 2024
14 Minister of Public Works and Housing Ahed Faeq Atef Bseiso Independent 31 March 2024
15 Minister of Social Development Samah Abdul Rahim Hussein Abu Aoun Independent 31 March 2024
16 Minister of Agriculture Rizq Abdul Rahman Salem Salimiya Independent 31 March 2024
17 Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Hani Naji Atallah al-Hayek Fatah 31 March 2024
18 Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Ashraf Hassan Abbas al-Awar Independent 31 March 2024
19 Minister of Culture Imad al-Din Abdullah Salim Hamdan Independent 31 March 2024
20 Minister of Transport and Communications Mohammed al-Ahmad Independent 15 November 2025
21 Minister of Women's Affairs Mona Muhammad Mahmoud al-Khalili Independent 31 March 2024
22 Minister of State for Relief Affairs Samah Abdul Rahim Hussein Abu Aoun (Interim) Independent 20 January 2025
Secretary General of the Council of Ministers Dawas Tayseer Rasheed Dawas Independent 31 March 2024
Government Spokesperson Muhammad Abu al-Rub Independent 31 March 2024
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List of cabinets

More information Dates in office, Prime Minister ...
Government Dates in office Prime Minister
All-Palestine22 September 1948 – June 1959Ahmed Hilmi Pasha
1st5 July 1994 – 17 May 1996Yasser Arafat
2nd17 May 1996 – 9 August 1998Yasser Arafat
3rd9 August 1998 – 13 June 2002Yasser Arafat
4th13 June 2002 – 29 October 2002Yasser Arafat
5th29 October 2002 – 30 April 2003Yasser Arafat
6th30 April 2003 – 7 October 2003Mahmoud Abbas
7th7 October 2003 – 12 November 2003Ahmed Qurei
8th12 November 2003 – 24 February 2005Ahmed Qurei
9th24 February 2005 – 29 March 2006Ahmed Qurei
10th29 March 2006 – 17 March 2007Ismail Haniyeh
11th17 March 2007 – 14 June 2007Ismail Haniyeh
12th14 June 2007 – 19 May 2009Salam Fayyad
13th19 May 2009 – 16 May 2012Salam Fayyad
14th16 May 2012 – 6 June 2013Salam Fayyad
15th6 June 2013 – 19 September 2013Rami Hamdallah
16th19 September 2013 – 2 June 2014Rami Hamdallah
17th2 June 2014 – 13 April 2019Rami Hamdallah
18th13 April 2019 – 31 March 2024Mohammad Shtayyeh
19th31 March 2024 – presentMohammad Mustafa
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Timeline

Jordanian annexation of the West BankFirst Fayyad GovernmentSecond and Third Fayyad GovernmentsFirst and Second Hamdallah GovernmentsThird Hamdallah GovernmentShtayyeh GovernmentMustafa GovernmentIsraeli Military GovernorateIsraeli Civil AdministrationFirst Arafat GovernmentSecond Arafat GovernmentThird Arafat GovernmentFourth Arafat GovernmentFifth Arafat GovernmentAbbas GovernmentFirst Qurei GovernmentSecond Qurei GovernmentThird Qurei GovernmentFirst Haniyeh GovernmentSecond Haniyeh GovernmentThird Hamdallah GovernmentAll-Palestine GovernmentOccupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab RepublicHamas government of June 2007Hamas government of 2012Hamas government of October 2016West BankPalestineGaza Strip

Public opinion

During the backdrop of the Gaza war in 2024, Zogby Research Services conducted a poll of Palestinians from the West Bank and from Gaza Strip regarding prospects of future governance in Gaza. A majority of respondents from the Gaza Strip (52%) supported some form of governance from the Palestinian Authority, either directly by a reformed PA (23%) or indirectly by Gazan administrators linked to the PA (29%). Only a small minority (24%) supported any Hamas involvement, either as the sole party in government (7%) or in a unity government with Fatah (17%). Conversely, only 20% of respondents form the West Bank prefer any PA involvement, either directly (9%) or indirectly (11%), but massively prefer Hamas involvement, either exclusively (38%) or in unity with Fatah (34%).[13] One point of unity is the unpopularity of president Mahmoud Abbas, with strong majorities from respondents in both regions (>70%) supporting his resignation.[14]

See also

References

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