Background Paper
October 22, 1998
I - Background
The revocation of the those sections of the Palestinian Covenant which,
inter alia, call for the destruction of Israel and the continuation of
the armed struggle against the Jewish State has been a matter of
paramount concern since the signing of the Declaration of Principles in
September 1993.
The Covenant is a particularly odious and abhorrent document which
contains provisions stating that:
- The establishment of Israel is "null and void" (Article 19),
- The destruction of Israel is a desideratum (Article 21),
- Armed struggle is the only way to achieve Palestinian political goals
(Article 9)
- The Jewish People has no national identity nor connection to the Land
of Israel (Article 20)
- Israel's existence is a threat to all the Peoples of the world and is
comparable to the Nazi regime (Article 22).
In his letter to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, dated 9 September, 1993,
Chairman Arafat stated as follows:
"...the PLO affirms that those articles of the Palestinian Covenant which
deny Israel's right to exist, and the provisions of the Covenant which
are inconsistent with the commitments of this letter are now inoperative
and no longer valid. Consequently, the PLO undertakes to submit to the
Palestinian National Council for formal approval the necessary changes in
regard to the Palestinian Covenant."
It should be noted that in his letter to PM Rabin, PLO Head Yasser Arafat
made specific mention of submitting the necessary changes to the PNC, as
the Covenant can only be changed by a vote of 2/3 of that body (Article
33 of the Palestinian Covenant).
It should also be noted that in his letter to PM Rabin, Arafat refrained
from specifying a date by which this obligation would be fulfilled. This
lacuna necessitated the restatement of this obligation twice, in the
"Agreement on the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area" dated May 4, 1994 and
subsequently in the "Interim Agreement" dated September 28, 1995.
II - The Resolution Adopted By The Palestine National Council
In accordance with the "Interim Agreement", which specified a date by
which the obligation to amend the Covenant had to be fulfilled (two
months after the inauguration of the Palestinian Legislative Council),
the Palestine National Council convened a closed meeting in Gaza on April
24, 1996 at which it adopted a resolution with regard to changing the
Covenant.
The resolution which was passed at this meeting can at best be described
as ambiguous. The resolution was not included in the official records of
the meeting and at least three (3) different versions were published in
various newspapers and news agencies.
The elements which are common to all of the versions are:
- a decision concerning changes in the Covenant by cancelling those
articles which are inconsistent with the exchange of letters in September
1993,
- the appointment of a legal committee, or instructions to an existing
legal committee of the PNC, to prepare a suggested draft of a new Covenant,
- a provision that the new draft will be presented to the first meeting of the Central Committee, or alternatively a special meeting of the PNC in accordance with Article 33 of the Covenant.
It should be noted that the resolution does not in any way specify which
of the articles of the Covenant have been cancelled.
III - Has The Covenant Been Changed?
The uncertainty surrounding the PNC resolution, coupled with the lack of
any specific articles which have actually been cancelled or nullified,
along with the fact that the "Legal Committee" mentioned in the
resolution has neither met nor even been duly constituted can only lead
to the conclusion that at best the Palestinians have embarked upon a
process of amending the Covenant which has yet to be completed.
This was, in fact, recognized in the "Note For the Record" which was
appended to the "Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron" in
January 1997. Under the heading "Palestinian Responsibilities" the first
one mentioned is: "Complete the process of revising the Palestinian National Charter."
IV - Palestinian Clarifications
In January 1998, Chairman Arafat sent letters to President Clinton and
Prime Minister Tony Blair purporting to "put to rest" concerns about the
PNC resolution and setting out a list of articles supposedly canceled or
amended by the decision.
It must be stated, however, that no personal statement by Arafat
regarding the articles to be amended by the resolution has any legal
force.
V - Conclusion
The Palestinian Covenant must be changed in an unambiguous manner. The
odious provisions contained in that document must be specifically
annulled by the only body empowered to do so by the Covenant itself, ie.
the PNC. Anything less is not only inconsistent with the pledge
undertaken by Chairman Arafat in his letter to PM Yitzhak Rabin in
September 1993 but also casts doubt on the fundamental willingness of the
Palestinian side to abide by its commitments.