The Palestinian Authority Government of 1996 was a government of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) formed following the first general elections held on 20 January 1996 in the Palestinian territories after the conclusion of the Oslo Accords in 1993. The general election was for the President of the PA and for members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The Government was headed by Chairman of the PLO, Yasser Arafat, and functioned in varying forms until the appointment of the Abbas Government on 29 April 2003. The Government was approved by the PLC, but there were no rules as to the term of the Government. Ministers were just appointed and dismissed by Arafat.
The government was chosen and appointed by PA President Arafat, and Arafat also presided at meetings of the "Council of Ministers".
Powers and jurisdiction 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 inter alia aimed at the prevention of Palestinian attacks on the Israeli army and settlers.
In 1997, the Palestinian Legislative Council approved the Basic Law, which was not signed by Arafat until 29 May 2002. This 2002 Basic Law stipulated that it only applied to the interim period set by the Oslo Accords. According to the Law, the Legislative Council (which should approve the Government) as well as the President of the Palestinian Authority (who should appoint the Ministers) were envisioned to function until the end of the interim period.2002 Basic Law, 29 May 2002. Article 34: The term of this Council shall be the interim period. Article 53: The term of the Presidency shall be the Transitional Phase, after which the President shall be elected in accordance with law. Article 62: The President of the National Authority shall appoint Ministers, remove them, and accept their resignations and presides over the meeting of the Council of Ministers. Article 65: The Cabinet shall consist of a number of Ministers not to exceed Nineteen The interim period had in fact ended on 5 July 1999.
Members of the Government # Name Image Ministerial Portfolio Party Notes 1 Yasser Arafat President of the Palestinian National Authority and Minister of Interior and Minister of Education Fatah Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee from the previous government 2 Minister of Economy and Trade Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Nablus 3 Nabil Ali Rashid Shaath Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Khan Yunis from the previous government 4 Saeb Mohammed Saleh Erekat Minister of Local Government Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Jericho from the previous government 5 Minister of Health Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Gaza from the previous government 6 Minister of Justice Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Deir al-Balah from the previous government 7 Minister of Civil Affairs Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Ramallah and al-Bireh from the previous government 8 Minister of Supply Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Rafah from the previous government 9 Intissar Mustafa Mahmoud al-Wazir Minister of Social Affairs Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Gaza from the previous government 10 Yasser Abdul Majid Adib Abed Rabbo Minister of Culture and Information FIDA Party Member of the PLO Executive Committee from the previous government 11 Minister of Youth and Sports Independent 12 Samir Ghawshah Minister of Labour Palestinian Popular Struggle Front Member of the PLO Executive Committee from the previous government 13 Mohammad Zuhdi Nashashibi Minister of Finance Independent Member of the PLO Executive Committee from the previous government 14 Hanan Ashrawi Minister of Higher Education Independent Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Jerusalem 15 Minister of Transport Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Hebron 16 Minister of Telecommunications Independent Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for North Gaza 17 Elias Freij Minister of Tourism Independent from the previous government 18 Hasan Tahboub Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs Independent from the previous government 19 Azzam Najeeb Mustafa al-Ahmad Minister of Public Works Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Jenin 20 Minister of Housing Fatah Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for North Gaza 21 Faisal Husseini Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fatah Member of the PLO Executive Committee 22 Bashir Barghouti Minister of Industry Palestinian People's Party 23 Minister of Agriculture Independent Member of the First Palestinian Legislative Council for Ramallah and al-Bireh 24 Ahmad Abdel Rahman Secretary General of the Cabinet Fatah
References