The President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, issued a constitutional declaration stipulating that in the event that the position of the President of the Palestinian Authority becomes vacant, the President of the Palestinian National Council shall assume his duties temporarily until the presidential elections are held in accordance with the Palestinian Elections Law.

President Abbas said in the constitutional declaration, “In our belief and awareness of this delicate stage in the history of the homeland and the Palestinian cause, and in fulfillment of our historical and constitutional responsibility to protect the Palestinian political system and protect the homeland, preserve the integrity of its lands and ensure its security, and the political and economic crisis that our people are experiencing today, represented by what our people are suffering as a result of the war of extermination, an existential threat that affects all aspects of life in Palestine. And in our belief that the dignity of the homeland is nothing but a reflection of the dignity of each of its individuals, who is the foundation of building the homeland, and that human freedom, the rule of law, and the support of the values of equality, pluralistic democracy and social justice are the basis of legitimacy for any ruling system that leads the country into the next period of our people’s history.”

He added, "Based on the above and building on it, and in order to emerge from the crises that the country is experiencing and in order to maintain stability during this period in which the country is facing many challenges that require us to confront them, we have issued the following constitutional declaration:

Article (1)

If the position of the President of the National Authority becomes vacant in the absence of the Legislative Council, the President of the Palestinian National Council shall assume the duties of the Presidency of the National Authority temporarily, for a period not exceeding ninety days, during which free and direct elections shall be held to elect a new President in accordance with the Palestinian Elections Law. If they cannot be held during that period due to force majeure, they shall be extended by a decision of the Palestinian Central Council for another period, and for one time only.