The Palestinian government

Orient House in Jerusalem has been a key symbol of Palestinian aspirations for an independent state. (Full story)

In 1991, talks between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel began in Washington D.C. In 1994, an agreement to begin the process of autonomy for the Palestinian territories was signed in Oslo, Norway.

The Palestinian Authority is the limited self-rule government for parts of the West Bank and Gaza that was established under the terms of the so-called Oslo Accords.

On January 20, 1996, Palestinians held their first elections. Yasser Arafat was elected president of the PA (the Palestinians refer to it as the Palestinian National Authority), and 88 others were elected to sit on a Palestinian Legislative Council. Arafat established a Cabinet for the Palestinian Authority that was approved by the legislative council.

Arafat proposed changes to the PA's basic law, which functions like a constitution, in February 2003 under pressure from the so-called international "quartet" - the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. The United States said reform was necessary to implementing its “road map” for peace in the Middle East.

Central to these changes is the weakening of Arafat’s autocratic grip through reform of the PA's politics, finances and security forces.

Under the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian territories were divided into three kinds of areas - Area As, where the Palestinians were in administrative and security control; Area Bs where the Palestinians had administrative control but Israel maintained security, and Area Cs, where Israel had both administrative and security control.

• Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat

There was a security chief for the West Bank and another for Gaza. Prior to the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada, Israeli and Palestinian security services worked in uneasy cooperation with Israel often charging that the Palestinians helped or ignored terror attacks on Israelis. After the Al Aqsa Intifada began, that system unraveled as Israeli forces moved into most cities in the West Bank and staged incursions into Gaza.

The position of prime minister was created in March 2003. After a power struggle with Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas accepted the post, appointed new cabinet ministers, and his government was approved by the Palestinian legislature. Arafat retained the final say over negotiations with Israel.

Some key Palestinian political figures

Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)
Abbas is prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. He worked heavily behind the scenes on the Oslo accords and is former PLO ambassador to Moscow. FULL STORY >>

Qurei

Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala'a)
Qurei is speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Under the unofficial Palestinian constitution, he would take over for 60 days if Arafat dies or is incapacitated. He was a PLO negotiator at Oslo in 1993.

Dahlan

Muhammad Dahlan
Dahlan is minister of state for security affairs. He is a veteran of talks with his Israeli security counterparts. He spent time in Israeli prisons before being deported and going to Tunis to help organize the Palestinian Intifada, the uprising against Israeli military forces in occupied areas of Gaza and the West Bank between 1987 and 1993.

Rajoub

Jibril Rajoub
Rajoub is head of Palestinian preventive security in the West Bank. He spent 17 years in Israeli prisons and was later exiled to Tunis.

Erakat

Saeb Erakat
Erakat is local government minister for the Palestinian Authority and the top negotiator for the Palestinians. He is a political scientist who has taught at An Najah University in the West Bank.

Shaath

Nabil Shaath
Shaath is minister of planning and international cooperation for the Palestinian Authority. He plays an important role in the Palestinian Authority's relations with the West.

Barghouti

Marwan Barghouti
Barghouti is the leader of Fatah in the West Bank. Considered a charismatic, popular and dynamic speaker, he emerged as an influential leader during the first Palestinian intifada from 1987 to 1993. Barghouti has been accused by Israel of having links to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a military offshoot of the Fatah movement which has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings in Israel. Barghouti, considered close to Arafat, was arrested on April 15, 2002, by the Israel Defense Forces in Ramallah during Israel's self-described campaign to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure of Palestinian militants in the West Bank.