President of the State of Palestine President of the State of Palestine The President of the State of Palestine is the head of the State of Palestine. He is also the President of the Palestinian National Authority. Both functions were held by Yasser Arafat from 1989 and continued until his death in November 2004, and was continued by his successor Mahmoud Abbas. In May 2005, the PLO Central Council asked Abbas to perform the duties of the President of the State of Palestine. In November 2008, the PLO Central Council approved the continuation of Abbas's function as President of the State of Palestine. On 15 November
President of the Palestinian National Authority Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area, he will use the title 'Chairman (Ra'ees in Arabic) of the Palestinian Authority' or 'Chairman of the PLO', and will not use the title 'President of Palestine.'" In practice, when referring to the "ra'ees" in English documents and statements, the PNA uses the term "president", whereas Israel uses "chairman". News releases from its embassy in Israel refer to the PNA "chairman"; press briefings in Washington use "president"; both occasionally avoid the issue with "Palestinian leader". Israeli press refers to the leader variously as "ra'ees", "president", "chairman" or by name alone. The international English-language press