| Palestinian Declaration of Independence | |
|---|---|
| Date effective | 15 November 1988 |
| Author(s) | Mahmoud Darwish |
| Full text | |
 Palestinian Declaration of Independence at Wikisource | |
The Palestinian Declaration of Independence formally established the State of Palestine, and was written by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and proclaimed by Yasser Arafat on 15 November 1988 (5 Rabiʽ al-Thani 1409) in Algiers, Algeria. It had previously[1] been adopted by the Palestinian National Council (PNC), the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), by a vote of 253 in favour, 46 against, and 10 abstaining. It was read at the closing session of the 19th PNC to a standing ovation.[2] Upon completing the reading of the declaration, Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, assumed the title of President of Palestine.[3] In April 1989, the PLO Central Council elected Arafat as the first President of the State of Palestine.[4]
- ^ Dan Cohn-Sherbok,The Palestinian State: A Jewish Justification, Impress Books, 2012 p.105.
- ^ Sayigh, 1999, p. 624.
- ^ Silverburg, 2002, p. 198.
- ^ Tom Lansford, Political Handbook of the World 2014, p. 1628. CQ Press, March 2014.
"On April 2, 1989, the PLO's Central Council unanimously elected Arafat president of the self-proclaimed Palestinian state and designated Faruk Qaddumi as foreign minister ..."