The President appoints the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from the Palestinian Legislative Council, with whom he shares power.
The Arabic term Ra'ees or Ra'is (رئيس) can be translated to English as either "President" or "Chairman". As the status of Palestine as a political entity is controversial, the use of the term President to describe the leader of the Palestinian government is controversial to some, as its use may be seen to imply a recognition of state sovereignty. The use of the term "Chairman" is controversial for the opposite reason—its use may be seen to imply denial of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
The Arabic term was used in the English text of the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, part of the Oslo accords which established the PNA. In practice, when referring to the ra'ees in English documents and statements, the PNA uses the term "president", whereas Israel uses "chairman".
The United States, in its role as peace broker, uses several different terms according to context. News releases from its embassy in Israel refer to the PNA "chairman"; press briefings in Washington use "president"; both occasionally avoid the issue with "Palestinian leader". The international English-language press mostly (but not always) follows the Palestinian terminology. Israeli press refers to the leader variously as "ra'ees", "president", "chairman" or by name alone.
A letter delivered from Yasser Arafat to the then Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, as part of the Gaza-Jericho agreement stated that "When Chairman Arafat enters the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area, he will use the title 'Chairman (Ra'ees in Arabic) of the Palestinian Authority' or 'Chairman of the PLO', and will not use the title 'President of Palestine.'"[2] There are some documents signed by Arafat as 'Chairman'. The same term was used by Bill Clinton during 2000 Camp David Summit.
Commander-in-Chief of the Palestinian Forces
Sends and receives all foreign ambassadors
Veto bills within 30 days of passage with 2/3 majority needed to over turn veto
May grant pardons or commute sentences but not general amnesty
If Legislative Council is not in session, in exceptional cases, can issues decrees with force of law, but decrees must be presented to Legislative Council as soon as convened for approval or cease to have force of law
Appoints the Prime Minister and may remove him
Order the Prime Minister to call together the Council of Ministers
No right to dissolve the Legislative council and call for early elections.
Before assuming the office, the President takes the following oath before the Legislative Council, and in the presence of the Speaker of the Palestinian National Council, the Chief of the Supreme Court:
I swear to God almighty to be faithful to the Homeland and to its sacred places, and to the people and its national heritage, and to respect the Constitutional system and the law, and to safeguard the interests of the Palestinian people completely, as God is my witness.
Considered legally incompetent, as per a ruling issued by the Supreme Constitutional Court, and subsequently approved by two thirds of the Palestinian Legislative Council
If the office of the President of the National Authority becomes vacant due to any of the above cases, the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council assumes the powers and duties of the Presidency of the National Authority, temporarily for a period not exceeding sixty days, during which free and direct elections to choose a new president are required to take place in accordance with the Palestinian election laws.
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