Constitution

The peoples of Palestine and Israel, in order to establish peace and prosperity among the peoples of Palestine and Israel, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare, and secure liberty for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.

The Israeli Palestinian Confederation serves as a government of the people to resolve conflicts and develop into the future in a fair and equitable manner.

We believe that Palestinians and Israelis are entitled to live at peace and enjoy liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and self-determination.

We believe that the Palestinians and Israelis are entitled to equal rights under the law, and guaranteed human rights and freedom.

We believe that the creation of a Confederation is consistent with the aspirations of the peoples of Palestine and Israel. The Israeli Palestinian Confederation does not intend to supersede or supplant the Palestinian or Israeli Governments, nor to abrogate or undermine any agreements between those governments.

We believe that the principles stated above will be achieved through the facilities of a mutual confederation, dedicated to fair representation of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, and dedicated to achieving consensus through confederation principles.

ARTICLE I
Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in the Parliament of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation, which shall consist of a combined 300 Palestinian and Israeli Representatives within Israel and Palestine. Said Parliament shall be called: The Israeli Palestinian Parliament. For the purpose of conducting the first election, districts shall be drawn by the founding committee prior to the elections.

The founding committee shall prescribe the time, place and manner of the first elections for the Confederation as well as the time, place and manner for the first Parliament to conduct its legislative sessions and voting mechanism.

Subsequent to the first elections, the 300 districts shall be set by an independent committee composed of Israelis and Palestinians who meet the eligibility requirement to vote in the election, and who shall not run as candidates for the Israeli Palestinian Confederation or its Parliament. The committee shall be appointed in accordance with the “Appointment Clause” of Article I, Section 24.

Districts shall be drawn randomly based on population. Districts may be drawn in blocks, so as to combine several districts, or may be drawn individually and distinctly to accommodate the individual location of a particular geographic location.

The committee shall announce the districts at least 180 days prior to the election for the Israeli-Palestinian Parliament. Districts may change at each election to reflect a change in geography or population. The committee shall attempt to assign districts to reflect the entire population, as well as all geographic locations in their entirety. Said committee shall be allowed sufficient latitude in drawing the districts to promote practical and efficient innovation to accommodate free and fair elections.

Section 2. No bill shall become law unless 55 percent of the Palestinian and 55 percent of the Israeli Parliament members have passed it and unless the respective Israeli and Palestinian heads of governments and the separate Israeli and Palestinian legislative bodies have been given a reasonable and equal opportunity to veto said bill and unless said governments and legislative bodies fail to veto such legislation within a reasonable time as prescribed by the bill. No bill shall prescribe a period of less than 30 days unless said bill is declared an emergency bill and unless a fair, equal and reasonable opportunity is afforded to the Israeli and Palestinian governments and legislative body to veto said legislation.

Prior to the execution of any law, the Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall obtain an approved petition from the Israeli or Palestinian governments authorizing it to enforce said law within the jurisdiction of the authorizing government.

Section 3. The Israeli Palestinian Parliament may pass laws designating the time, place and manner, as well as the identities of those governments and legislative bodies to whom a veto power is bestowed. The times, places and manner of holding elections, as well as the time, place and manner of its legislative sessions and voting mechanism for the Israeli Palestinian Confederation Parliament shall be prescribed by the Israeli Palestinian Parliament.

Section 4. Laws not affecting the Israeli or Palestinian governments may pass upon a 55 percent vote of the Palestinian and 55 percent of the Israeli Parliament members and shall not be subject to veto by those governments.

Section 5. The Israeli Palestinian Confederation Parliament shall be composed of members chosen every four years by the people of the several districts. Said elections shall take place within the confines of Israel and Palestine. Those eligible to vote must hold citizenship of the State of Israel or of Palestine, as defined by those governments, and must have attained the age of 18, and must be an inhabitant of Israel or Palestine.

Section 6. A person may be elected to Parliament provided he or she has attained the age of twenty-one years at the time of the election, and is a citizen of Palestine or Israel and an inhabitant of the district of which he or she may be elected. All Parliament members shall announce their affiliated citizenship upon the announcement of their candidacy, and when elected, shall be counted as members of the same delegation as their announced citizenship and will remain so until the date of the termination of their term.

A person may announce his or her candidacy for Parliament and President; however, should he or she be elected to both, he or she shall make a choice, within 30 days from the date he or she was elected, as to his or her preferred choice of posts. No person shall serve simultaneously as an elected member in the Parliament and the executive branches of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.

Section 7. Except for the first elections, the election for the Israeli Palestinian Confederation and the Israeli Palestinian Parliament shall take place at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the term of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation Parliament members. Each district shall elect the Parliament member who received the most votes. In the event of a block district which combines several representatives, those Parliament members who receive the most votes shall be elected.

Section 8. When vacancies occur in any district or block of districts, the candidate who received the next highest number of votes shall be elected. If no such candidate exists, the delegation of the vacant representative shall appoint the representative.

Section 9. Each Parliament member of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall take the following oath prior to entering their office as legislators: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute my duties as a Legislator for the Israeli Palestinian Parliament, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.”

Section 10. Parliament members of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall be elected for a period of four (4) years and each parliament member shall have one vote. Parliament members shall not serve and shall not be elected for more than 12 years or three terms, whichever is greater.

Section 11. The Israeli Palestinian Confederation Parliament shall have the sole power to try and impeach the President and the Vice President, as well as any parliament members or officers and judges of the Confederation. When convening for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When any Confederation Government member is tried, one Israeli and one Palestinian Parliament member of the Confederation shall preside. No person shall be impeached unless 55 percent of the Israeli and 55 percent of the Palestinian Parliament members have voted for the same article of impeachment. No person shall be convicted unless 65 percent of the Israeli and 65 percent of the Palestinian Parliament members have voted to convict on the same article.

Section 12. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend beyond removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the Israeli Palestinian Confederation; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law.

Section 13. The Parliament shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members.

Section 14. The Parliament may determine the rules of its proceedings and punish its members for disorderly behavior.

Section 15. The Parliament shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, and the yeas and nays of the members on any question shall be entered in the journal. The proceedings of the Parliament shall be open to the public, and its proceedings published and available to the general public.

Section 16. The Parliament members may receive compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.

Section 17. The Parliament members shall, in all cases except for treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest by the Israeli Palestinian Confederation during their attendance at the Parliament, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

Section 18. No Parliament member of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall simultaneously serve in an official elected capacity for the Israeli or Palestinian Government or legislative body.

Section 19. The first Parliament shall ratify the Constitution of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation in its present or amended form by a vote of 55% of the Israeli and 55% of the Palestinian Parliament members. Any subsequent amendments to the Constitution shall require sixty-five percent of the Israeli and sixty-five percent of the Palestinian Parliament members to the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.

Section 20. The laws of the Palestinian government and the laws of the Israeli government shall be the supreme law of the land; any conflict of laws between the Israeli or the Palestinian governments and the Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall be interpreted to allocate superior weight to the separate Israeli or Palestinian Governments.

Section 21. The Representatives of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation Government shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.

Section 22. The Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Section 23. All debts contracted and obligations entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.

Section 24. Appointment Clause – No committee or judicial panel shall be appointed unless an equal number of its members are appointed by the Israeli and the Palestinian delegations to the Parliament and unless the President and Vice President each have appointed an equal number of the committee or panel members. No person who, at the time of appointment, is a member of the Israeli or Palestinian government, legislative body, arm or police force shall be appointed.  No committee member, judicial officer, or executive appointed on behalf of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall take office unless he or she takes the same oath as his or her appointee has taken.

Section 25. The Israeli Palestinian Confederation Parliament may override any veto issued by the President of the Confederation by 65 percent of the Israeli and 65 percent of the Palestinian Legislation. The Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall not override any veto issued by either the Israeli or the Palestinian Governments.

Section 26. This Constitution shall be interpreted based on its English language version.

Section 27. The first election date for the Israeli Palestinian Confederation Government shall be December 12, 2012, and shall last for a period of time as shall be announced by the Israeli Palestinian Confederation committee. Said elections and future elections may be conducted in the most convenient manner, including the internet so as to accommodate the needs of the Israeli and Palestinian people.

Section 28. The Israeli Palestinian Confederation government shall be sworn into office within 45 days after the announcement of the election results. The election results shall be certified by the Israeli Palestinian Confederation committee. All members of the Confederation shall take an oath of office which may be taken verbally or in writing, or in any manner sufficient to establish a meaningful communication of said oath or affirmation.

Section 29. Any member of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation who was elected in special elections or appointed for office shall serve until the next general elections, and if qualified, may run at any subsequent elections.

ARTICLE II
Section 1. The executive power of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall be vested in a President and Vice President of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation. The President shall hold his or her office during the term of two (2) years, and shall alternate at the expiration of the two years with the Vice President, who will become the President in the second two years of the term, at which point the previous President shall become Vice President. The President and the Vice President shall be elected together. Said President and Vice President shall be citizens and inhabitants of Israel or Palestine.

The President and Vice President shall be elected during the general elections held at the same time as the elections for Parliament of the Confederation. The candidate who obtains the most votes from the entire pool of voters for President shall be elected as President for the first two years. The Vice President shall be of a different citizenship from the person elected President. The person who is of a different citizenship from the President who received the second largest number of votes from the entire pool of voters shall be the Vice President. The Vice President shall be elected for a period of two years.

Section 2. The President and Vice President shall be elected every four years during the general election held by the Israeli Palestinian Parliament. The President shall have the power to veto legislation passed by the Confederation Parliament at any time prior to a veto issued by the separate Israeli or Palestinian Governments.

The President of the Confederation may issue executive orders which will be in effect for a period of 90 days, to facilitate both his or her, and the Vice President’s executive duties. Said orders shall conform to duties bestowed upon him or her by this Constitution or by the Parliament members who may override said orders and regulations by 65 percent of the Israeli and 65 of the Palestinian Parliament members.

The President shall appoint various secretaries and ministers who shall be confirmed by 55 percent of the Israeli and 55 percent of the Palestinian Parliament members. Said secretaries shall take the oath of office as prescribed in this constitution. A secretary for the Israeli Palestinian Confederation may not act in any other official capacity for either the Israeli or Palestinian Government.

The Vice President shall act as the Chief and Commander of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation Police Force.
The President shall have the power to enter into treaties with other governments subject to ratification by the Israeli Palestinian Parliament and subject to a veto power of the separate Israeli and Palestinian governments as prescribed by Article I, Section 2.

The President and Vice President shall have the power to pardon any individual of all violations relating to laws within the jurisdiction of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation. However, the Parliament shall also have the power to overturn such pardon upon a vote of 55% of the Palestinian and 55% of the Israeli Parliament members or upon the vote of 65% of each delegation.

Section 3. No President or Vice President shall be elected or serve for more than eight years or two terms, whichever is greater.

Section 4. No person except a citizen and an inhabitant of Israel or Palestine shall be eligible to the office of President or Vice President; neither shall any person be eligible for that office who has not attained the age of thirty-five years.

Section 5. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his or her death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office, the same shall be bestowed on the next runner-up candidate for the same office, in the elections for the same time period, provided said candidate is of the same citizenship as that of the unavailable President. If no such candidate is available, special elections shall be held within 90 days of the President’s declared unavailability. The unavailability of the President shall be declared by the Parliament or by the President himself or herself.

Section 6. In case of the removal of the Vice President from office, or upon his or her death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office, the same shall be bestowed on the next runner-up candidate for the same office, in the elections for the same time period, provided said candidate is of the same citizenship as that of the unavailable Vice President. If no such candidate is available, special elections shall be held within 90 days of the Vice President’s declared unavailability. The unavailability of the Vice President shall be declared by the Parliament, or by the Vice President himself or herself.

Section 7. In case of the removal of both the President and Vice President from office, or of the death, resignation, or inability of both the President and Vice President to discharge their powers and duties of said office, the same shall be bestowed on the next runner-up candidates for the same offices for the same time period, who shall maintain the same rotation as that of the unavailable President and Vice President. If no such candidates are available, special elections shall be held within 90 days from their declared unavailability. The unavailability of both the President and the Vice President shall be declared by the Parliament, or by both the President and Vice President.

Section 8. The President and Vice President may, at designated times, receive compensation for their services from the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.

Section 9. Before the President and Vice President enter into the execution of their offices, they shall take the following oath or affirmation: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President (or Vice President) of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.”

Section 10. The President and Vice President shall have the powers as bestowed upon them by this Constitution and the Legislators of the Israeli Palestinian Parliament, subject to the veto power of the separate Israeli and Palestinian Governments as stated in Article I of this Constitution.

Section 11. The President, Vice President, Parliament members, judges and all civil officers of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes .

Article III
Section 1. The judicial power of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as the Parliament may from time to time ordain and establish. There shall be an equal number of Israeli and Palestinian Judges. Each trial shall contain the same number of Israeli and Palestinian Judges.

All Judges for the Israeli Palestinian Confederation shall be appointed equally by the President and Vice President and shall be confirmed by the Parliament.

In the event of unavailability, a Judge shall be appointed by the President or Vice President of the same citizenship as the Judge and shall be confirmed by the Parliament.

Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases arising under this Constitution and the laws of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation. The judicial power shall be limited to laws upon which the Israeli and Palestinian governments and legislature have no veto power except for those issues relating to the internal operation of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation.

Section 3. All cases shall be heard by an equal number of Israeli and Palestinian Judges. Decisions shall be rendered by a simple majority. In the event a simple majority is unattainable, a random drawing to remove one Judge will be held. However, any legal decision against a Palestinian or Israeli citizen or entity must have a majority of Judges of the same citizenship as that of the person or entity against whom a decision is rendered.

Section 4. All legal decisions, except those relating to the internal operation of the Confederation government by the Israeli Palestinian Supreme Court, or any of the lower courts, shall have an automatic 60-day stay and may be appealed to the separate Israeli or Palestinian judicial systems and may be subject to a complete or partial reversal or modification by the respective Palestinian or Israeli Courts in accordance with their laws and requirements.
The Israeli Palestinian Confederation decisions relating to the internal operation of the Confederation government shall become final upon a decision of the Israeli Palestinian Confederation Supreme Court.

Section 5. The Israeli Palestinian Confederation Judicial System shall give full faith and credit to any legal decision made by the separate Palestinian or Israeli Judicial System.
Constitutional definitions:
Palestine: West Bank and Gaza
Israel: The entire state of Israel which is under the control of the Israeli government
Inhabitant: A person who permanently resides in Israel or Palestine in the last 180 days before the upcoming elections.
Israeli Citizen: A person who is recognized under Israeli law as a citizen of Israel.
Palestinian Citizen: A person who is recognized under Palestinian law as a citizen of Palestine.
Different Citizen: for an Israeli citizen a “different citizen” is a Palestinian citizen. For a Palestinian citizen a “different citizen” is an Israeli Citizen.
Gender –Masculine includes both masculine and feminine.