ABSTRACT
The concept of the Palestinian Authority (PA) took shape in negotiations leading to the 1993 Israel-Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Declaration of Principles on Interim SelfGoverning Arrangements, through which the PLO was mandated to form a semi-autonomous Palestinian Interim Self-Governing Authority (PISGA) responsible for limited administration of the indigenous population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Article VII noted that
Upon the entry into force of this Declaration of Principles and the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area, a transfer of authority from the Israeli military government and its Civil Administration to the authorized Palestinians for this task, as detailed herein, will commence.
