Palestine publishes draft Constitution as statehood uncertain

Although the future of Palestine as a state is unclear, it seems it is about to get its own constitution.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, on 9 February issued a presidential decree ordering the publication of the first draft of the provisional Constitution of the State of Palestine, as reported by Atalayar. The aim is to make the document publicly available for review, with an open invitation to citizens, civil society organisations, political forces, experts and academics to submit comments and suggestions within sixty days of the decree’s publication.

The Coordination and Drafting Committee, tasked with receiving, organising and reviewing the submissions, will prepare a detailed report on the outcome of the consultation. The report will then be submitted to the President for discussion and approval before the draft Constitution is finalised.

Abbas’s decree comes at a time when the prospect of the establishment of a Palestinian state appears more distant than ever. In Gaza, bombs have continued to fall. Since the ceasefire was announced in October 2025, Israel has killed more than 500 people and wounded a further 1,500. Moreover, the future of the Gaza Strip is now in the hands of Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace, under which Palestinians would have no role in governing Gaza. The Board would rule the territory as a supposedly apolitical committee composed of Palestinians and international experts.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has neither withdrawn nor shown any intention of withdrawing its troops from Gaza. On the contrary, in January 2026 the so-called “yellow line” marking the boundary between areas of the Strip under Israeli military control and Palestinian territory was pushed further forward. According to data from Gaza’s Centre for Human Rights, the portion of Gaza under Israeli occupation increased from 53% to over 60% at the beginning of January 2026.

At the same time in the occupied West Bank, the backbone of what is supposed to be the State of Palestine, the ethnic cleansing continues unabated. Settlers persist in attacking Palestinian communities and establishing new outposts, while the Israeli army has expanded its military operations to the southern part of the occupied territories, carrying out raids in several Palestinian cities and villages.

As if this were not enough, the Tel Aviv government has also moved on the legislative front. The latest decision, approved on 8 February by Israel’s security cabinet, endorsed a series of measures aimed at easing land purchases by settlers in the occupied West Bank while granting Israeli authorities greater control over the Palestinian population.

Atalayar, Maghrebi.org