Under the Palestinian self-rule agreements reached between Israel and the Palestinian leadership, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is an interim self- governing body mandated to administer all civil affairs except foreign affairs and security matters.
On Sept. 13 1993, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli government signed the "Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements" (DOP) at the White House in Washington, which allowed the Palestinians to execute self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank's Jericho area.
The DOP stipulated that there should be a five-year interim period during which a Palestinian authority would be established in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. During that period, the two sides conducted final-status negotiations on issues including Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, borders with Israel and Jewish- Israeli settlements. The final status was to be based on United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.
On May 4 1994, the "Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area" was signed in Cairo by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.
A Palestinian Authority headed by Arafat was formed on May 12 and took over the governing of Jericho city from the Israeli military authorities the following day. Palestinian self-rule was later extended to the West Bank.
The Palestinian Authority held its first meeting in Tunisia on May 26 when it endorsed a political agenda for the interim self- rule period in the Gaza Strip and Jericho. The agenda reaffirmed the Palestinian commitment to establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
On July 11 1994, Arafat arrived in Gaza City after 27 years in exile to permanently settle in the Palestinian territory. The Palestinian Authority later shifted its headquarters from Tunisia to the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, signed in September 1995, aimed at broadening Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.
In line with the agreement, the first Palestinian general elections were held on Jan. 20 1996 to choose the president of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), or the Palestinian Self- Government, and an 88-member Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Arafat was elected PNA President and took office on Feb. 12.
The first PNA cabinet was sworn in on May 17 1996 and was presented to, and approved by, the PLC on June 27 1996.
According to the DOP, a Palestinian state was to be established in the Palestinian self-governed territory by May 1999. Although implementation of the DOP was hindered by rifts between the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships over defining and translating the agreement and continued violence in the area, the PNA has since functioned as a self-governing body.
On Sept. 29 2000, Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon, later prime minister, angered Palestinians by visting the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, Islam's third holiest site. The move sparked a wave of violent conflicts between the two sides and the peace process virtually ground to a halt.
In December 2001, Israel branded the PNA an organization " supporting terrorism" and cut off all contacts with Arafat, accusing him of failing to crack down on Palestinian militants. It also carried out military operations against the PNA.
To restart the peace process, the PNA undertook a structural reform in March 2003 in which the post of prime minister was established. PLO deputy leader Mahmud Abbas was elected the first Palestinian Prime Minister. The incumbent prime minister is former PLC speaker Ahmed Qurei.
Today, the PNA executes self-governance in about 60 percent of the Gaza Strip and 40 percent of the West Bank. The total area currently under Palestinian control is about 2,500 sq. km.