In terms of its political structure, the Palestine is actually a political condominium between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. In the current power structure, the most important powers – external relations, internal and external security, public order and security in Israeli settlement areas – are reserved to Israel. In addition, according to the Memorandum signed by representatives of the Palestinian and Israeli authorities in September 1999 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Israel continues to fully control the so-called. zone C (sparsely populated areas, Jewish settlements, as well as important military-strategic places for Israel in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip), which in total makes up more than 50% of the entire territory of the Palestine.
According to topschoolsintheusa, the Palestinian Legislative Council has 88 members. The government consists of 26 people. Its functions include: regulating economic life, ensuring security in the area of responsibility of the Palestine, taxation and social security, education, health care, culture, and tourism.
The main official in the power structure in the Palestine, who determines its domestic and foreign policy, is Y. Arafat. He combines the posts of Palestine President and Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee, uniting in his hands all three branches of power in the Palestine—legislative, executive, and judicial.
The formation of the judicial system on the territory of the Palestine, as well as other authorities, is in its infancy. There are secular and religious courts. The highest judicial body, the Supreme Court of the Palestine, is empowered to supervise the activities of lower courts. The nomination, appointment and removal of judges is under the jurisdiction of Y. Arafat. The activities of the Sharia courts are formally led by the Mufti of Palestine, although the appointment of members of the Sharia courts is under the control of the Ministry of Justice. The Sharia courts deal mainly with the “personal status of Muslims” (marriage, divorce, inheritance law, etc.).
The territory of the Palestine is divided into 16 administrative units. West Bank – 9 districts and 2 districts. Districts: Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqiliya, Nablus, Jerusalem, Jericho (Ariha), Bethlehem, Hebron, Tubas. Areas: Salfit and Ramallah al-Bira. Gaza Strip – districts: North Gaza, Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis, Rafah. Mayors of cities and chairmen of local councils are appointed by the central authorities of the Palestine, members of local councils are elected by the population. Issues of education, culture, sanitary conditions, health care, and social security are directly under the jurisdiction of local authorities.
The functions of protecting order and security of citizens are carried out by law enforcement organizations, primarily the Palestinian police. Its number, according to various estimates, is 30-45 thousand people. Along with the regular police units, there are various kinds of special services: “Service_17”, also known as the Presidential Guard (about 3 thousand fighters), national security forces that carry out patrol service and guard the borders (about 6 thousand people), public security (about 14 thousand people), law enforcement police (POP, 10 thousand people). In addition to maintaining law and order, the task of the PEP includes the settlement of crisis situations and the fight against terrorism. Since the creation of the Palestine, a counterintelligence service has also been operating in the Palestinian territories, controlling social and political life and the state of affairs in various social movements.
The Palestine has a highly developed public political infrastructure. Although there are no parties here in the usual sense of the word, there are various movements and socio-political organizations that represent separate sections of Palestinian society. The largest and most influential organization is Al-Fatah – the Palestine Liberation Movement. In modern Palestinian society, this is a kind of “party of power”: its functionaries and leaders occupy a dominant position in most power structures from the president to the mayors of cities. Another influential organization, Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), stands for building an independent Islamic state throughout Palestine, including that part of it that was allocated by the UN for the formation of the State of Israel.
An important role in the social and political life of the Palestine is played by trade unions, which unite more than 250,000 people, women’s organizations, unions of students, writers and journalists, lawyers, and artists.
