Summary
The charter adopted in Jerusalem on 28 May 1964 in the founding session of the Palestine Liberation Organization, declaring Palestine, with its boundaries at the time of the British Mandate, an indivisible Arab homeland, the Palestinian Arab people an inseparable part of the Arab Nation with the legitimate right to its homeland, the 1947 partitioning of Palestine and the establishment of Israel and the Balfour Declaration and Mandate system null and void, and Zionism a colonialist movement to be considered illegal; it charges the Palestine Liberation Organization with carrying out the liberation, while providing that the Organization does not exercise territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Gaza Strip or the Himmah Area, and it makes amendment possible only by a two-thirds majority of the Palestinian National Council in a special session (Palestine National (qawmi) Charter (1964), lines 1-219).
What the file is
The PalQuest reproduction, in English translation from the Arabic original, headed “Palestine National Charter (Al-Mithaq Al-Qawmi Al-Filastini)” and “Adopted in the founding session of the Palestine Liberation Organization” — Jerusalem, 28 May 1964. An introduction and 29 articles, about 1,847 words for the charter itself; 219 lines in the text copy including PalQuest navigation and the Document metadata and Related Content blocks at the tail, which give the date (28 May 1964), location (Jerusalem) and original language (Arabic), and link the 1st Palestine National Council (28 May 1964 - 2 June 1964) and the Basic Laws of the PLO and of the Palestinian National Fund (2 June 1964). The text is clean and legible; slips recorded as printed include “a indivisible” (Article 2), “isan” (Article 3), “All Palestinian constitute” (Article 9) and “this Convent” (Article 23).
Section by section
- Introduction. Four “We, the Palestinian Arab people” paragraphs: continuous battles and “continuous caravans of immortal martyrs” in defence of the homeland against the forces of international Zionism and colonialism; belief in its Arabism and right to regain its homeland, moving forward “on the path of holy war (al-jihad) until complete and final victory has been attained”; the right of self-defense and complete restoration of the lost homeland as recognised by international covenants including the Charter of the United Nations; the people “dictate and declare this Palestinian National Charter and swear to realize it”.
- Articles 1-4, homeland and destiny. Palestine is an Arab homeland forming with the other Arab Countries the great Arab homeland (Article 1); Palestine with its Mandate boundaries “is a indivisible territorial unit” (Article 2, as printed); the Palestinian Arab people has the legitimate right to its homeland and is an inseparable part of the Arab Nation (Article 3); the people of Palestine determine its destiny when it completes liberation, by its own wishes and free will (Article 4).
- Articles 5-7, who is a Palestinian. The Palestinian personality is permanent, genuine and transferred from fathers to sons (Article 5). “The Palestinians are those Arab citizens who were living normally in Palestine up to 1947, whether they remained or were expelled. Every child who was born to a Palestinian Arab father after this date, whether in Palestine or outside, is a Palestinian” (Article 6). “Jews of Palestinian origin are considered Palestinians if they are willing to live peacefully and loyally in Palestine” (Article 7).
- Articles 8-10, upbringing, unity and mottos. Bringing up youth in an Arab and nationalist manner is a fundamental national duty (Article 8); ideological doctrines shall not distract from the primary duty of liberation, and all Palestinians constitute one national front (Article 9); the three mottos are National Unity, National Mobilization, and Liberation, and after liberation the people shall choose its own political, economic or social system (Article 10).
- Articles 11-14, Arab unity and the Arab duty. Belief in Arab unity alongside preservation, at this stage, of the Palestinian personality (Article 11); “Arab unity and the liberation of Palestine are two complementary goals; each prepares for the attainment of the other” (Article 12); the Arab Nation’s destiny is tied to the Palestine question, the Palestinian people in a vanguard role (Article 13); liberation is a national duty of the entire Arab nation, governments and peoples, which must mobilise its potentialities and give the Palestinian Arab people all possible support (Article 14).
- Articles 15-16, spiritual and international viewpoints. Liberation prepares an atmosphere of tranquillity in which all Holy Places are safeguarded and freedom of worship and visit guaranteed without discrimination (Article 15); liberation is a defensive act under the United Nations Charter’s self-defense provision, and the people look to freedom-, justice- and peace-loving nations for support (Article 16).
- Articles 17-20, nullity and Zionism. “The partitioning of Palestine, which took place in 1947, and the establishment of Israel are illegal and null and void, regardless of the loss of time” (Article 17). “The Balfour Declaration, the Palestine Mandate System, and all that has been based on them are considered null and void” and Judaism, a divine religion, “is not a nationality with independent existence” (Article 18). “Zionism is a colonialist movement in its inception, aggressive and expansionist in its goal, racist in its configurations, and fascist in its means and aims” and Israel its spearhead and a permanent source of tension (Article 19); all nations are demanded to consider Zionism an illegal movement and outlaw its presence and activities (Article 20).
- Articles 21-22, principles and coexistence. Belief in justice, freedom, sovereignty, self-determination and human dignity, and support for peace efforts on the basis of justice (Article 21); peaceful co-existence only “on the basis of legal existence, for there can be no coexistence with aggression, nor can there be peace with occupation and colonialism” (Article 22).
- Articles 23-29, the Organization. The Palestine Liberation Organization carries out its full role to liberate Palestine under its basic law (Article 23). “This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or in the Himmah Area. Its activities will be on the national popular level in the liberational, organizational, political and financial fields” (Article 24). The Organization is in charge of the Palestinian people’s movement in all such matters and in the Palestine Question in the Arab and international spheres (Article 25), cooperates with all Arab governments without interfering in any Arab state’s internal affairs (Article 26), and shall have a flag, oath and national anthem under special regulations (Article 27). Its basic law is attached, defining its establishment, organs, institutions and duties (Article 28). “This Charter cannot be amended except by two-thirds majority of the members of the National Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization in a special session called for this purpose” (Article 29).
Key passages
- “Palestine, with its boundaries at the time of the British Mandate, is a indivisible territorial unit” (Article 2, as printed).
- “Jews of Palestinian origin are considered Palestinians if they are willing to live peacefully and loyally in Palestine” (Article 7).
- “The partitioning of Palestine, which took place in 1947, and the establishment of Israel are illegal and null and void, regardless of the loss of time” (Article 17).
- “This Organization does not exercise any territorial sovereignty over the West Bank in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, on the Gaza Strip or in the Himmah Area” (Article 24).
Evidence the work relies on
The charter is a constitutive declaration, not an evidentiary work. It invokes, without quoting at length, the Charter of the United Nations (self-defense and self-determination), the principles of human rights, the 1947 partitioning of Palestine, the Balfour Declaration and the Palestine Mandate system, and the attached basic law of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which the PalQuest file lists separately as a related text of 2 June 1964 and does not reproduce.
Analysis
A founding programme in declarative articles, moving from identity (Articles 1-7) through strategy toward Arab unity (Articles 8-16) and legal nullification of partition, the Balfour Declaration and the Mandate (Articles 17-20) to the Organization’s mandate and limits (Articles 23-29). Its limits as a source are those of a programme text: it states claims and duties, gives no vote figures, attendance or drafting record, and its Article 24 disclaimer of territorial sovereignty over the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Himmah Area defines the Organization’s 1964 posture toward Jordan and Egypt-held territory without explaining it.
People, organizations, places and events
Palestine Liberation Organization, Palestinian National Council, Balfour Declaration, Mandate for Palestine, City of Jerusalem, West Bank, Gaza
Concepts
Self-determination, Partition, Zionism, Liberation of Palestine
How it relates to other sources
This is the 1964 text that the The Palestinian National Charter (1968) of July 1968 revises: held side by side, the 1968 text drops the Article 24 disclaimer of territorial sovereignty, replaces Article 7’s test for Jews of Palestinian origin (willingness to live peacefully and loyally) with residence in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion, adds armed struggle as the only way to liberate Palestine, and adds articles rejecting substitute solutions and asserting the revolution’s independence. Its nullification of the 1947 partition is the position from which it departs from UN General Assembly Resolution 181; its Article 18 treatment of the Balfour Declaration and Mandate is to be read against those instruments themselves, Balfour Declaration and Mandate for Palestine. The founding session it records is the establishment of the PLO treated in Palestine Liberation Organization.
Open questions
- The file gives no attendance, vote or drafting record for the founding session, and no Arabic text against which to check the translation.
- “Himmah Area” (Article 24) is named without definition or location in the text.
- The attached basic law (Article 28) is listed by PalQuest as a separate related text and is not reproduced in this file, so the organs and duties it defines are not accounted for here.
Coverage
lines 1-219 of 219, read in full.