Preface

At the initiative of the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre (JMCC), and under the supervision of the Preparatory Committee, a conference titled, `Challenges Facing Palestinian Society During the Interim Period - First Conference' was held at the Ambassador Hotel in Arab Jerusalem on Friday and Saturday, 4-5 February 1994.

As we promised, and as a way to complete the goals of the conference, we present to the Palestinian people and its leadership this book, which comprises the various papers submitted to the conference and a word-for-word transcript of all discussions that took place in its six sessions. The aim is to expand the dialogue on the vital and decisive issues presented.

 The conference indicated the ability of an intellectual group of Palestinians inside and outside the homeland to hold serious, responsible, deep and democratic dialogues founded in the principle of the common interests of all sectors of society, far from any political or ideological sensitivities.

We noticed a number of traits that permeated the conference: the need for Palestinian political activity to be widened for greater democratic participation; the need to fill the blatant gaps in current Palestinian political performance, whether at the level of the negotiations or at the level of preparedness to assume authorities; the prominence of Jerusalem and settlements, which were brought up in the majority of the conference's sessions, and the desire for these subjects to have a greater share in Palestinian political activity.

The success of this attempt and the suggestions of a great number of attendees encourages us to repeat the attempt on a regular basis in a deeper and more specialized way. The future conferences will come out with specific recommendations and practical mechanisms to push things toward fulfilling those recommendations.

Finally, we apologize for any shortcomings or mistakes that may have come about due to the need to publish this book at the necessary speed.

We inaugurate this conference with a minute of silence in mourning of our nation's martyrs.  I hope this conference will help in confronting the great and new challenges that will face Palestinian society in the future state--the transitional phase--on the political, developmental, social and security levels.

This conference aims to give an opportunity and mechanism for a group of chosen intellectuals and prominent figures inside and outside the homeland to deal--in a scientific, methodological and organized way--with the challenges in a strategic way, without the pressure of making quick political decisions.

The conference also aims to create a free Palestinian public opinion based on democratic dialogue between diverse but responsible and well-studied opinions. This helps to make a positive impact and serves as a guide for the political decision makers in the Palestinian political leadership and our representative, the PLO.

As for the theoretical underpinnings of this conference, they are mainly a will to participate in the Palestinian effort to study how to turn this transitional phase an initial step toward our goals: ending occupation, achieving right of return, self- determination and establishing the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

To this end, the conference comprises six sessions. It begins with a deep and scientific study of the Declaration of Principles, followed by the Israeli perception of this agreement. The second session is on the concept of a Palestinian authority during the transitional phase, the first such authority, and it includes a discussion of the draft Basic Law for the National Authority in the Transitional Phase. The fourth session is on persistent issues that were not mentioned in the agreement. The fifth is on developmental and economic strategies in the transitional phase. Finally, we end the conference with a session entitled, `National Unity in a Framework of Political and Ideological Pluralism'.

The Preparatory Committee has provided you with the necessary documents, like the draft Basic Law of the National Authority, the text of the Declaration of Principles and its appendices, the letters of mutual recognition, and the most recent Palestinian-Jordanian [Economic] Agreement. To conclude, I would like to thank the colleagues in the Preparatory Committee for their efforts and the employees of the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre.

• A political reading of the DOP (Haider Abdul Shafi)
• A legal reading of the DOP (Raja Shehadeh)

• The proposed charter of the national authority in the transitional phase (Anis Al-Qasem)
• The new Palestinian charter: what kind of a constitution? (Naseer Aruri)
• The concept of authority & democracy (Musa Budeiri)

• Jerusalem the forgotten issue (Ibrahim Dakkak)
• Displaced Palestinians (As'ad Abdul Rahman)

• The strategy of economic development in the transitional phase (Samir Abdullah)
• Horizons of Palestinian investment (Kamal Hassouneh)

• The future of the Islamic movement's relation with the transitional authority (Sheikh Bassam Jarrar)
• The future of the PLO and its role during the transitional period (Muhammad Hallaj)
• Elections as a framework and mechanism of pluralism, national unity and democracy (Manuel Hassasian)