An-Najah News - On this day 32 years ago, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat declared from Algiers the independence of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.

The statement of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, read aloud by late Palestinian leader Arafat, was written by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.
"In the name of God and in the name of the Palestinian Arab people, the National Council declares the creation of the State of Palestine on our Palestinian land with noble Jerusalem as its capital," declared Arafat on November 15, 1988, at a meeting of the Palestinian National Council, the Palestinian parliament in exile, which convened in the Algerian capital.

In April 1989, the PLO Central Council elected Yasser Arafat the first President of the State of Palestine.

This declaration was a turning point in the history of the Palestinian national liberation movement.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) confirmed Palestinian acceptance of the two-solution for the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

It also led to Arab, Islamic, and world recognition of the State of Palestine as declared in Algiers.

The right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood has been universally recognized by the UN. This includes the UN General Assembly.

According to Resolution 3236, which states that the right of independence of Palestine is “inalienable” and that the Palestinian people have a right to a “sovereign and independent” state.