Abstract

The current Palestinian foreign policy arose under the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and is now led by the Palestinian National Authority which was established after the Oslo Accords in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Therefore, it is important to know the nature of the legal references and the frame of reference for these Palestinian institutions in the environment of the international community in their practice of foreign policy, as a measure of progress in achieving Palestinian goals and ending the Israeli occupation. There is a problem in these references because they are somewhat vague, and the researcher has sought to clarify them through this study by following the descriptive-analytical approach where the study discussed the nature of international references that emerged from the Oslo Accords, as well as international diplomatic law, and its impact on Palestinian foreign policy. The study also discussed the internal references that emerged from the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Palestinian Basic Law. The study is concluded with several results, most notably the existence of a real weakness in the references of the Palestinian foreign policy, in the absence of oversight over performance, and the freezing of the work of the Palestinian Legislative Council. The study also made several recommendations, most notably the need to reconsider the role of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has retreated in favor of the Palestinian National Authority.