Security forces require clear and civil-democratic legal frameworks, in order to be effectively managed, overseen, and accountable. However currently, many Palestinian security forces have no governing legal text at all. In particularly, no legal text currently regulates the work of the National Security Forces (NSF), nor prescribes their powers, missions, capacities and organisational structure.

In this context, the Palestinian National Security Forces requested that DCAF and the Palestinian Centre for the Strategic Studies and Research (PCSSR) assist them in developing draft legislation for the NSF.

This Working Paper presents the process and outcomes of this assistance. Concretely, it also presents the Draft Law by Decree of 2016 Concerning the National Security Forces which was written and adopted by the National Security Forces after a collaborative process including the Palestinian Authority, civil society groups and local legal experts. The Draft Law awaits review by the Council of Ministers, and the signature of the President.