PA's draft constitution enshrines pay-for-slay, defines Palestine as part of 'Arab homeland'

A draft of a constitution for a future Palestinian state made public this week cemented in law the pay-for slay program, omitted any mention of the Jews' historic ties to Jerusalem and appeared to endorse the idea that descendants of Palestinians displaced during the 1948 war have a so-called "right of return" to Israel. The first article of the document apparently seen by PA leadership as the equivalent of a foundational document of their future state affirms that Palestine is "part of the Arab homeland" and the "Palestinian people are part of the Arab nation."

The fourth article designates Islam as the official religion and Islamic Sharia as the principal source of legislation. While Christianity is accorded a protected status, Judaism is not mentioned in the article nor anywhere else in the text. Neither are Jews. Article XXIV assigned to the future state the duty to "work to provide protection and care for the families of martyrs, wounded, and prisoners, and those released from the occupation prisons and the victims of genocide."

Last year Abbas announced the cancellation of the PA's terror rewards program known as "Pay-for-Slay," saying that the payments to terrorist prisoners and so-called Martyrs’ families would be reconfigured into a more general social welfare program. Yet article XXIV suggests that financial support for perpetrators of terror remains a priority. The text was made public at the order of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. It makes references to the Palestinians' "right of return" without clarifying that the return would be to the future Palestinian state. (Read More)