The Media Line: PA’s Draft Constitution Contains No Mention of Protecting Jewish Holy Sites, Promises Funds for Prisoners, Families of ‘Martyrs’   

PA’s Draft Constitution Contains No Mention of Protecting Jewish Holy Sites, Promises Funds for Prisoners, Families of ‘Martyrs’   

By The Media Line Staff  

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has directed that a proposed constitution for a future Palestinian state be made public, the PA’s official news agency WAFA reported.  

The draft document asserts Palestinian sovereignty over Jerusalem while omitting any reference to Jewish holy sites or Jewish historical ties to the city. It defines Jerusalem as the capital and national symbol of the state and describes it as its political, spiritual, cultural, and educational center. The text commits the state to protecting Islamic and Christian holy places and declares that any actions altering the city’s character or historical identity are null and void under international law.  

Religious provisions in the draft designate Islam as the official religion and identify Islamic Sharia as the primary source of legislation. Christianity is granted a protected status with defined rights, while Judaism is not mentioned. The text requires the president to “swear by God Almighty” upon assuming office and assigns Sharia-related disputes to Sharia and religious courts.  

The draft outlines a welfare framework that includes state responsibility for families of “martyrs, wounded, and prisoners,” as well as individuals released from prison. The repeated reference to “martyrs” and “prisoners” appears to revive the Palestinian Authority’s longstanding practice of providing stipends to families of convicted terrorists and terror suspects, a policy widely criticized as “pay-for-slay.”  

In February 2025, Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian Authority had ended its longstanding system of payments to prisoners convicted of attacks on Israel and to families of attackers, announcing that the stipends were being replaced with a need-based social welfare program. He framed the move as a reform, though critics argued it amounted to a rebranding rather than a full cessation of the payments.  

The constitution’s preamble frames the proposed state as emerging from what it describes as a struggle against “colonial settlement occupation,” “ethnic cleansing,” and “genocide” in Gaza and the West Bank, presenting the document as part of a broader national and political campaign rather than a purely legal charter.  

At the same time, the draft includes clauses guaranteeing equality before the law and prohibiting discrimination based on personal characteristics, including religion. It also affirms freedom of belief and the right of followers of monotheistic religions to practice religious rites and establish places of worship.  

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim rejected the draft, calling it “a violation of the noble rights of our Palestinian people,” according to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN News.  

The constitution was drafted by a 16-member committee chaired by Mohammad al-Haj Qassem. WAFA said Abbas’s decree opens a 60-day period for citizens, political factions, civil society groups, and experts to submit comments and proposed amendments.