Palestinian Prisoners' Document

The Prisoners' Document, officially the National Conciliation Document was written in May 2006 by Palestinian prisoners, who were being held in an Israeli jail. The five prisoners who took part in writing the Document were respectively affiliated with Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

The Document called for an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with al-Quds al-Shareef as its capital, and upholding the Palestinian right of return, both based on the UN Charter and international law. The Document also called for a reform of the PLO to enhance its representativity through the participation of all forces and factions, and for the election of a new Palestinian National Council before the end of 2006.

President Mahmoud Abbas presented an ultimatum to Hamas to endorse the Document, which implicitly recognizes Israel, one of the key demands of the Road map for peace. He threatened to call a national referendum on the Prisoner's Document if Hamas would refuse. Abbas issued the referendum after Hamas had rejected his demands. A revised National Conciliation Document was negotiated and signed by all factions in June 2006 without being made essential changes to the text. The referendum did not take place.

Israel dismissed the Prisoners' Document because it did not meet the requirements of the Roadmap and notably did not explicitly recognize Israel, and insisted on the right of return and the right to resist the occupation ″by various means″.

The Prisoners' Document was written by leaders of the most important Palestinian factions, imprisoned in Israel. Prisoners of Israel have a high status within the Palestinian society. The Document was written in the context of a looming Palestinian civil war, amidst increasing factional fighting following Hamas' electoral victory and its entry into Parliament and Government.

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