Palestinian History and Politics

Gregory S. Mahler is Academic Dean Emeritus and Research Professor of Politics at Earlham College (Indiana). He received his BA from Oberlin College and his MA/PhD from Duke University. He is the author of over 30 books on comparative politics and the Middle East, including The Arab-Israeli Conflict (Routledge, 2024).Mahdi F. Abdul Hadi (1944–2025) received his PhD from the School of Peace Studies at Bradford University, UK, in 1984. He was the founder and Chairman of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) in Jerusalem, as well as the (co-)founder of many Palestinian institutions. In 2019, he became a member of the Islamic Waqf Council in Jerusalem. He authored and edited numerous publications on the Palestine question. He died following a short illness in January of 2025.

• Introduction1. Theodore Herzl, The Jewish State, 1896.2. The Basle Program, First Zionist Congress, Basle, 31 August 1897.3. Letter of Yousef Duya-Uddin (Pasha) Al-Khalidi, Mayor of Jerusalem, to the Chief Rabbi of France, Zadok Kahn, 1899 and Theodore Herzl’s Response, 19 March 1899.4. MacMahon-Hussein Correspondence, 1915-16.5. British Government, Message to King Hussein of the Arab Kingdom of Hedjaz Regarding Palestinian Holy Places and Zionist Colonisation, January 1916.6. The Sykes-Picot Agreement, 16 May 1916.7. Successive Drafts and Final Text of the Balfour Declaration, July-November 1917.8. Agreement between Amir Faisal of the Arab Kingdom of Hedjaz and Chaim Weizmann of the Zionist Organization, 3 January 1919.9. Statement by Anti-Zionist Jews to the Peace Conference, 4 March 1919. 10. The British White Paper (“Churchill White Paper”): British Policy in Palestine, 3 June 1922.11. Council of the League of Nations, Confirmed Text on the Terms of the British Mandate, 24 July 1922.12. Chairman of the Palestine Zionist Executive Colonel Frederick H. Kisch, Note of a Conversation with Musa Kazim Al-Husseini, Jerusalem, 23 October 1923 13. Arab Draft of Points on Palestine, Presented to John Philby, Damascus, 21 October 1929.14. Statement of Policy by His Majesty's Government, Presented by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to Parliament by Command of his Majesty - The “Passfield” White Paper, United Kingdom, 1 October 1930. 15. British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, Letter to Chaim Weizmann, President of the World Zionist Organization, (“Black Letter”), 13 February 1931.16. Ahmad Salih Al-Khalidi, Principal of the Government Arab College, Proposal for Cantonization and Formation of an Arab and Jewish State, July 1934.17. Fatwa from the Religious Scholars of Palestine Regarding Selling of the Lands to Jews, 26 January 1935 18. Summary Report of the Palestine Royal Commission (“Peel Commission”), Presented by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the United Kingdom Parliament, 7 July 1937.19. Palestine Partition Commission (“Woodhead Commission”) - British Policy Statement against Partition, November 1938.20. The British White Paper (“MacDonald White Paper”), 17 May 1939.21. The Arab Case for Palestine: Evidence Submitted by the Arab Office, Jerusalem, to the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, March 1946.22. Arab Higher Committee Member Jamal Bey Husseini, Statement Before the Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestine Question on Arab Reactions to the UNSCOP Proposals, 29 September 1947 23. United Nations General Assembly: Resolution 181, The Partition of Palestine (November 29, 1947)24. US President Harry S. Truman, Proposal for a Temporary UN Trusteeship for Palestine, 25 March 1948.25. Provisional State Council, Proclamation of Israeli Independence, Tel Aviv, 14 May 1948.26. Arab League States, Statement Following the Establishment of the State of Israel, 15 May 1948.27. UN Mediator on Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, Suggestions Presented to the Two Parties, 27 June 1948.28. Cablegram from the Premier and Acting Foreign Secretary of the All-Palestine Government, Ahmed Hilmi Pasha, to the UN Secretary-General Concerning the Constitution of the All-Palestine Government, 28 September 1948.29. Palestine Arab Higher Committee, Palestinian Proclamation of Independence, Gaza, 1 October 1948.30. National Council Conference, Palestine Arab Higher Committee, Palestinian Proclamation of Independence, Gaza, 1 October 1948. 31. UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, Working Paper on the Future of Arab Palestine and the Question of Partition Prepared by the Secretariat, 30 July 1949.32. UN General Assembly, Resolution 303 on Jerusalem, 9 December 1949. 33. Jordanian House of Deputies and House of Notables, Joint Resolution Annexing the West Bank and Jerusalem, Amman, 24 April 1950.34. National Covenant of the Palestine Liberation Organization, First Arab Palestine Congress, Jerusalem, 28 May 1964.35. Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, Statement to the Knesset - The Israeli Peace Plan, Jerusalem, 17 May 1965.36. League of Arab States, Council of Foreign Ministers, Protocol for the Treatment of Palestinians in Arab States ("Casablanca Protocol"), 11 September 1965.37. League of Arab States, Summit Conference Resolution, Khartoum, 1 September 1967.38. UN Security Council, Resolution 242, 22 November 1967.39. Palestine Liberation Organization, Statement Rejecting UN Security Council Resolution 242, Cairo, 23 November 1967. 40. The Palestinian National Charter: Resolutions of the Palestine National Council (PNC), Cairo, 17 July 1968.41. Palestine National Liberation Movement (Fateh), Seven Points Passed by the Central Committee, January 1969.42. PLO-Lebanese (“Cairo”) Agreement, Cairo, 3 November 1969.43. Gov of Israel, Basic Foreign Policy Principles, Jerusalem, 15 December 1969.44. Spokesman of the PLO Executive Committee, Kamal Nasser, Statement on Municipal Elections in the West Bank, February 1972.45. King Hussein of Jordan, United Arab Kingdom Plan, Amman, 15 March 1972.46. Spokesman of the PLO Executive Committee, Kamal Nasser, Reply to King Hussein’s Proposed Plan for the West Bank, Beirut, 16 March 1972.47. League of Arab States, Secret Resolutions, Summit Conference, Algiers, 4 December 1973.48. Palestine National Council, Political Program Adopted at Its 12th Session, Cairo, 8 June 1974. 49. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Statement Announcing Withdrawal from the PLO Executive Committee, Beirut, 26 September 1974.50. League of Arab States, Communiqué of the 7th Arab Summit Conference, Rabat, 28 October 1974.51. UN General Assembly, Resolution 3237 Granting Observer Status to the Palestine Liberation Organization, New York, 22 November 1974.52. UN General Assembly, Resolution 3375 (XXX) Inviting the PLO to Participate in the Efforts for Peace in the Middle East, New York, 10 November 1975.53. Palestinian National Council, Political Declaration, 12th Session, Cairo, 22 March 1977. 54. UN General Assembly, Resolution 32/5 on Israeli Settlements in the Territories, New York, 28 October 1977.55. PLO Factions, Six-Point Program Calling for the Formation of a ‘Steadfastness and Confrontation Front’ against Sadat’s Negotiations with Israel, 4 December 1977.56. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Proposed Autonomy Plan for the Palestinians, Jerusalem, 28 December 1977.57. Office of the Legal Advisor of the US State Department, Opinion to the US Congress, Declaring that Israeli Settlements are Inconsistent with International Law, 21 April 1978. 58. Government of Egypt, Proposals Relative to Withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza and Security Arrangements (“Egyptian Six-Point Peace Plan”), 3 July 1978.59. The Camp David Accords - Framework for Peace in the Middle East, Camp David, 17 September 1978.60. West Bank National Conference, Statement Rejecting the Camp David Accords, Beit Hanina, Jerusalem, 1 October 1978.61. Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt, Washington, DC, 26 March 1979.62. Government of Israel, Model for the Self-Governing Authority, 16 January 1980. 63. UN General Assembly, Resolution ES-7/2 on the Question of Palestine, New York, 29 July 1980.64. Government of Israel, Israeli Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, Knesset, 30 July 1980.65. PLO Executive Committee, Statement on Jerusalem, Damascus, 1 August 1980.66. UN Security Council, Resolution 478 on Jerusalem, New York, 20 August 1980.67. Foreign Minister Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Eight-Point Peace Plan (“Fahd Plan”), 6 August 1981.68. Government of Israel, Proposals for the Self-Governing Authority in the Territories (“Autonomy Plan”), 31 January 1982.69. League of Arab States, Final Declaration of the 12th Arab Summit Conference (“Fez Plan”), Fez, 9 September 1982.70. Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Events at the Refugee Camps in Beirut (Kahan Commission), 8 February 1983.71. Government of Jordan, Communiqué on the End of Negotiations with the PLO, Amman, Jordan, 10 April 1983. 72. Joint Palestinian-Jordanian Accords, 11 February 1985. 73. PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, Statement on Terrorism (“The Cairo Declaration”), Cairo, 7 November 1985.74. Palestine Liberation Organization, Three Proposals Submitted to American and Jordanian Negotiators, Clarifying the PLO’s Positions on the Peace Process, Amman, 5 February 1986.75. The Palestinian Fourteen (14) Points, Jerusalem, 14 January 1988.76. King Hussein of Jordan, Speech on Jordan’s Disengagement from the West Bank, Amman, 31 July 1988.77. Palestinian National Council, Declaration of Independence, Algiers, 15 November 1988. 78. US President Ronald Reagan, Statement on US-PLO Dialogue, Washington, DC, 14 December 1988.79. Palestinian West Bank Leaders, Letter Rejecting Israel’s Election Plan, 27 April 1989.80. Israeli Government, Peace Initiative: Plan for Elections in the Occupied Territories, Jerusalem, 15 May 1989.81. US President George H. Bush, Statement Announcing the Decision to Suspend the PLO-US Dialogue, Huntsville, Alabama, 20 June 1990.82. Palestine Liberation Organization, Statement on the Gulf Crisis, Tunis, 19 August 1990. 83. Palestinian Memorandum to US Secretary of State James Baker, Jerusalem, 12 March 1991. 84. Palestinian National Council, Political Statement, 20th Session, Algiers, 28 September 1991. 85. Joint US-USSR Letter of Invitation to the Madrid Peace Conference, 18 October 1991.86. Madrid Peace Conference - Closing Speeches: Remarks by Haidar Abdul Shafi, Head of the Palestinian Delegation, 1 November 1991.87. Palestinian Delegation, “Outline of Model of the Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority (PISGA)”, Washington, DC, 14 January 1992.88. Palestinian Delegation, Memorandum to US Secretary of State James Baker, Jerusalem, 20 July 1992.89. Palestinian Delegation, Letter to the Israeli Delegation on the Progress of the Peace Talks, Washington, DC, 19 November 1992.90. Palestinian Delegation, Draft Proposal for a Declaration of Principles, Tunis, 9 May 1993.91. Faisal Husseini, Memorandum to Special US Middle East Coordinator Dennis Ross, Jerusalem, 1 July 1993.92. Secret Oslo Signing Ceremony: Speeches at the Conclusion of the Declaration of Principles, Oslo, 20 August 1993.93. PLO and Israel, Exchanged Letters of Mutual Recognition, 9 September 1993.94. PLO Executive Committee, Statement on the Declaration of Principles, Tunis, 12 September 1993.95. Palestinian-Israeli Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Authority (DOP), White House, Washington, DC, 13 September 1993.96. King Hussein of Jordan, Address to the Parliament, Amman, 23 November 1993.97. Gaza-Jericho Autonomy Agreement (Cairo Agreement), Cairo, 4 May 1994.98. Palestinian-Israeli Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip (“Oslo II”), Washington, DC, 28 September 1995.99. Framework for the Conclusion of a Final Status Agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (the Beilin-Abu Mazen Final Status Agreement), 31 October 1995.100. Palestinian National Council, Revision of the Palestinian National Covenant, 21st Session, Gaza, 24 April 1996.101. PLO and Israel Negotiation Delegations, Joint Communiqué, First Session of the Permanent Status Negotiations, Taba, 6 May 1996.102. Palestinian and Israeli Negotiation Delegations, Agreement on the Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron (TIPH), 9 May 1996.103. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Speech on Presenting the New Government, Knesset, Jerusalem, 18 June 1996.104. Palestinian Authority, List of Israeli Violations of the Oslo Agreement, Gaza, 15 July 1996.105. Israeli Government Press Office, Major PLO Violations of the Oslo Accords, Jerusalem, 25 October 1996.106. Palestinian Delegation to the Peace Talks, Issues Awaiting Implementation by the Israeli Government in Accordance with the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, November 1996.107. Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron (“Hebron Agreement”), 15 January 1997.108. King Hussein of Jordan, Letter to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the Peace Process, Amman, 9 March 1997.109. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Reply to King Hussein’s Letter, Jerusalem, 10 March 1997.110. President Yasser Arafat, Address to the Conference on the Implementation of the Oslo Accords, Gaza, 15 March 1997.111. Palestinian Chief Negotiator Sa'eb Erekat, Letter to US, EU and Other International Representatives Regarding Israeli Settlement Expansion in the Gaza Strip, 25 April 1997.112. Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Memorandum of Security Understandings, 17 December 1997.113. Hamas, Statement to President Yasser Arafat Regarding the Negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, 18 June 1998.114. The Wye River Memo, The White House, Washington, DC, 23 October 1998.115. Resolutions of the Palestinian Opposition Conference (‘Palestinian National Conference’), Damascus, 12-13 December 1998.116. PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, Speech at the Palestinian Conference to Affirm Renunciation of the PLO Charter, Gaza, 14 December 1998. 117. Government of Israel, Position on Expansion of Settlements, Jerusalem, 27 April 1999 118. Sharm El-Sheikh Memorandum on Implementation Timeline of Outstanding Commitments of Agreements Signed and the Resumption of Permanent Status Negotiations, 4 September 1999. 119. US Letter of Assurance to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, 8 September 1999 120. Protocol Concerning Safe Passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, 5 October 1999.121. Petition of the Twenty, "A Call from the Homeland," Palestine, 27 November 1999.122. Palestinian Political Personalities, Reconciliation Document, 1 December 1999.123. Palestinian Intellectuals, "Message to the Israeli and Jewish Public," March 2000.124. Trilateral Statement on the Middle East Summit, Camp David, Maryland, 25 July 2000.125. US President Clinton, Remarks on Returning from Camp David, Maryland, 25 July 2000. 126. Mahmoud Abbas, Report on the Camp David Summit to the PLO Central Council, Gaza, 9 September 2000.127. Palestinian Academics and Activists, Urgent Statement to the Israeli Public, 10 November 2000.128. The Clinton Parameters, 23 December 2000.129. PLO Negotiating Team, Reservations Concerning US President Clinton’s 23 December Proposals for an Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement, Ramallah and Gaza, 1 January 2001.130. Draft of the Palestinian Constitution, 14 February 2001. 131. Jordanian-Egyptian Proposal for Cessation of Palestinian-Israeli Violence and Resumption of Negotiations, 17 April 2001.132. Sharm El-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee Final Report (“Mitchell Report”), 30 April 2001 133. Palestine Liberation Organization, Official Response to the Final Report of the Sharm El-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee (Mitchell Report), 15 May 2001.134. US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, Speech on the Lessons Learned from the Peace Process, Tel Aviv, 12 July 2001. 135. Palestinian National Authority, Basic Law, 29 May 2002. 136. The Ayalon-Nusseibeh Statement of Principles (“The People’s Voice”), 27 July 2002. 137. A Performance-Based Road Map to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 30 April 2003.138. Israeli Cabinet, Communiqué Approving Removal of Chairman Arafat, Jerusalem, 11 September 2003.139. Draft Permanent Status Agreement - "The Geneva Accord", Jordan, 12 October 2003140. Fateh Movement, Statement on the Geneva Accord, 1 December 2003. 141. PLO Executive Committee, Political Statement after Meeting with Representatives of the Palestinian Factions, Ramallah, 30 May 2004.142. International Court of Justice, Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Summary and Actual Ruling, 9 July 2004.143. Palestinian Public Figures, Public Statement on a National Salvation Government, 14 August 2004.144. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Speech to the Knesset, Jerusalem, 26 October 2004.145. The Disengagement Plan - General Outline, 25 January 2005.146. Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Statement to the Palestinian People, 22 June 2005.147. Israeli Cabinet, Communiqué on the Beginning of the Implementation of the Disengagement Plan, Jerusalem, 15 August 2005.148. Report of the Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied by Israel since 1967 (UNGA A/60/271), 18 August 2005.149. President Mahmoud Abbas, Decree on the Legislative Elections, Gaza, 20 August 2005.150. Israeli-Palestinian Agreement on Movement and Access, 15 November 2005.151. Agreed Principles for the Rafah Crossing, 15 November 2005.152. Joint Israeli-Palestinian Private Sector Declaration, Conference on Promoting Economic Growth in West Bank and Gaza, London, 13 December 2005.153. President Mahmoud Abbas, Speech after the Announcement of the Results of the 2nd Palestinian Legislative Council Elections, Ramallah, 26 January 2006.154. Israeli Prime Minister’s Bureau, Statement on the Palestinian Legislative Council, Jerusalem, 26 January 2006.155. Program of the Hamas Government, 11 March 2006.156. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Address to the Knesset, Jerusalem, 4 May 2006.157. National Conciliation Document of the Palestinian Prisoners (Original Version), 11 May 2006.158. Government of Israel, Reaction to the Palestinian ‘Prisoners’ Document’ (“A Text Analysis”), 29 June 2006.159. Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO), Statement Condemning Israel’s War Crimes in Gaza and Lebanon, Ramallah, 17 July 2006.160. PLO Executive Committee, Decisions during the Meeting to Study Alternative Options, Ramallah, 10 December 2006.161. Mecca Accord between Hamas and Fateh, Mecca, 8 February 2007. 162. Prime Minister-Elect Ismail Haniyeh, Speech before the Palestinian Legislative Council (Program of Palestinian Unity Government), Gaza, 17 March 2007.163. Palestinian Authority, Program of the National Unity Government, 17 March 2007. 164. Statement by the Middle East Quartet, 21 March 2007.165. President Mahmoud Abbas, Speech at the Annapolis Conference, Annapolis, Maryland, 27 November 2007.166. Israeli-Palestinian Agreement to Formally Restart Middle East Peace Talks, US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, 27 November 2007.167. Confidential Summary of Israeli Prime Minister Olmert’s “Package” Offer to Palestine President Abu Mazen (31 August, 2008).168. United Nations: Human Rights in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories (September 25, 2009) [“The Goldstone Report”].169. The 2014 Gaza Conflict: Factual and Legal Aspects: Executive Summary (May, 2015).170. Report of the Middle East Quartet (July 1, 2016).171. Trump Administration Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel (December 6, 2017).172. “Peace to Prosperity” [“Trump Peace Plan”] Overview, January 2020.173. The Abraham Accords Declaration, September 15, 2020.174. International Court of Justice, “Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem” (July 19, 2024).