The Elder of Ziyon, an award-winning writer, popular blogger, and influential pro-Israel voice in social media, spoke to a March 16 Middle East Forum podcast (video). The following summarizes his comments:
The draft of a new Palestinian constitution, which has been given little scrutiny by the media, has “weaponized the entire idea of a constitution.” The draft is in response to an initiative by European states and spearheaded by France’s President Emmanuel Macron. The countries’ collective interest in “recognizing the state of Palestine” was conditioned on such a state complying with democratic benchmarks, as well as “uphold[ing] human rights” and the rule of law. Macron, who prided himself on having taken part in drafting the constitution, consequently showered Abbas with monies from France and other European countries.
Instead, “if you read it carefully, it seems to claim all the land from the river to the sea, not just the—what they would call—occupied territories.”
Contrary to verbal commitments given to Macron by Palestinian National Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, the draft’s preamble considers the constitution as “one document with the Palestinian Declaration of Independence of 1988, as well as being tied to the PLO [Palestine Liberation Organization] documents.” The PLO’s 1988 covenant “doesn’t recognize Israel at all in any borders.” Instead, “if you read it carefully, it seems to claim all the land from the river to the sea, not just the—what they would call—occupied territories.” Even if elections are held, the draft constitution stipulates that the state itself has no power and is subordinate to the PLO.
In Article 11 of the constitution, the draft states that the PLO is “still the sole representative of the Palestinian people.” While the draft details what the state does, it places no limits on the PLO’s power. Thus, the PLO allows “approved terror groups” such as Fatah, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP], to keep their weapons. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, however, would not, thus enabling the PLO to strip its competition of power. France specified that Abbas would have to “demilitarize Hamas,” which Abbas agreed to. However, “if one day Hamas joins” the PLO, the constitution provides a path for the terror group to survive and “keep its arms as well.” This constitutional loophole enables Abbas to say he complied.
This supposedly democratic constitution also enshrines the president with power over foreign policy, control over Supreme Court appointments, selection of security service heads and appointment of commander in chief of the army, “which is funny because they’re not supposed to have an army.” The president is also the legislative branch, and he alone can create laws or dissolve the legislature. The limitation is that the president cannot dissolve the legislature twice in one year for the same reason, “so he makes up a new reason.” Despite the president’s power, as the constitution stands now, there can be no compromise for peace with Israel “because the constitution literally doesn’t allow that to happen.”
The PLO makes all decisions, including that of the “right of return.” The Palestinian claim of this right is code for the demographic destruction of the Jewish state and is a “non-starter for Israel.” Rather than reaching a compromise on refugees, the draft includes the “right of return” in a way that cannot be amended. By defining Israel “as a genocidal state,” the draft constitution precludes any challenge to the accusation because this definition is enshrined in the document and declared as a constitutional fact with no statute of limitations. Articles in the constitution forbid treaties that invalidate the constitution, which means there can be no treaties with a genocidal state. Any sort of agreement between the Palestinians and Israel would be considered unconstitutional. “In the end, peace itself is effectively unconstitutional.”
In Article 44 of the draft constitution, under the heading of “Public Rights and Freedoms,” it explicitly “mandates the provision of comprehensive care for the families of martyrs, the wounded, and prisoners.” In essence, although Abbas had assured Macron that the PA’s practice of “pay for slay” would be eliminated, the constitution doubles down on “if you kill a Jew, you will get money” by enshrining the longstanding PA program, which pays the families of slain or incarcerated terrorists as a “constitutional right.” By using language that “nothing in chapter two can be amendable,” the constitution essentially states that no one can get rid of “pay for slay.”
Under the constitution, Palestinians can claim that any adult who served in the Israeli military is a “presumptive war criminal.”
These scenarios are unfolding in real time, and the draft constitution “makes it even starker.” Under the constitution, Palestinians can claim that any adult who served in the Israeli military is a “presumptive war criminal.” Countries that recognize “the state of Palestine” can be flooded with arrest warrants for Israelis. These warrants, which the PLO or any aligned non-governmental organization (NGO) can insist be issued by the host nation to any Israeli traveling there, would demand compliance with the “statute of Rome” treaty Europeans accept. The Rome Statute, adopted in 1998, grants the International Criminal Court jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for international crimes.
Canada is an example of the Palestinian constitution’s “state-backed behavior” of vengeance. Ottawa is compiling a database of “Canadian citizens that have served in the IDF.” If the countries flooded with requests for warrants have to process them, these countries will either have “endless extradition hearings” or, if they ignore requests, be in violation of existing agreements they entered into. By agreeing to this initiative, “I don’t think they [these countries] thought through” the difficult position they placed themselves in.
The constitution also stipulates that any Israeli who had served in its military and engages in rapprochement with a Palestinian would be subject to arrest, imprisonment, or even torture if caught entering Palestinian territory. Any Palestinian entering Israel to engage with an Israeli friend, partner, or NGO would be considered conspiring against “the unity of the territory” and a traitor to the cause.
As the constitution’s primary source of legislation is Sharia, meaning that “nothing in the law can contradict Islamic law,” any violation of Sharia is rendered unconstitutional. The PLO signed international treaties to project a “state-like” appearance, but few of these became law under the Palestinians. An example is CEDAW, the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.” Although the PLO is a signatory to it, in the end, a PA chief justice could not implement it because it contradicted Sharia law. Thus, since any treaty signed by the PLO and subsequently ruled contrary to Sharia law would be “null and void,” their adoption can be viewed as merely for show.
Although the PA’s 2003 Basic Law at least recognized Judaism “as a heavenly religion,” not so in 2026, as the draft constitution says that only Christian rights “are respected.” This is a meaningless statement, effectively affording Christians no protection. Any Jewish places of historic significance in territory under Palestinian state control would be off limits to Jews, as they have been under Jordanian law. There is not even the pretense of pluralism in the Palestinian constitution.
None of the Western states is challenging the lies they were fed. Western states that signed off on this document need to hold Abbas accountable.
The general trajectory of a revolutionary movement is to transition to a liberation movement. The movement is then absorbed into a state, replacing the liberation movement with a constitution governing its citizens. However, this draft elevates the PLO liberation movement above the state. By rendering the PLO immune from state authority, the constitution enshrines eternal conflict. “This is a revolutionary document. It’s not a state constitution.”
The Europeans built an entire constitution for the PA with all the trappings of democratic structures, including a presidency and a parliament, but “the state of Palestine is essentially a shell that just makes the Europeans feel good.” The Western states, in their self-deceptive eagerness to recognize a Palestinian state, do so “under false pretenses” since the Palestinians lied in telling the West what it wanted to hear.
The PLO is currently reviewing the draft of the constitution, and it will become effective on April 11 when the comment period ends. None of the Western states is challenging the lies they were fed. Western states that signed off on this document need to hold Abbas accountable. “This is a recipe for perpetual war.”
