Today, the Palestinian Authority is celebrating the Declaration of Independence, and the proclamation of a State of Palestinian State, on 15 November 1988 — despite the fact that this State has not yet come into existence, and even though this is a time that, most Palestinians believe, may be one of the lowest points of their history. The holiday, which is being celebrated by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, follows a three-day period of mourning for the eight deaths and nearly 200 injured, victims of violence at Monday’s rally in Gaza City to commemorate the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat’s death.
On 1 November 1988, at a meeting in Algiers — i.e., in exile — of the Palestine National Council, the late Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat announced the Declaration of Independence of the Palestinian people. It was also a proclamation of a Palestinian State.
One of the first elements in the Palestinian Declaration of Independence was a denunciation of the “falsehood” that Palestine was “a land without a people” — this had subjected the Palestinians to a “new form of occupation”, it said.
Then, the Declaration stated, the legitimacy of the Palestinian State was based on UN General Assembly Resolution 181, adopted on 29 November 1947, which partitioned the former British Mandate of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab.
The Declaration of Independence argued, however,that the Palestinian people had subsequently been deprived of their right to self-determination. It also said that the Palestinian people had been subject to a historical injustice by displacement of so many at the establishment of the Jewish State — Israel.
Here are two slightly different translations from the original Arabic of this important provision:
(1) the translation provided by the Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations in New York, which was circulated three days later as an official document in both the UN Security Council (Document S/20278) and the UN General Assembly (Document A743/827): “Despite the historical injustice done to the Palestinian Arab people in its displacement and in being deprived of the right to self-determination following the adoption of General Assembly resolution 181 (II) of 1947, which partitioned Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish State, that resolution nevertheless continues to attach conditions to international legitimacy that guarantee the Palestinian Arab people the right to sovereignty and national independence”. The Palestine Observer Mission’s translation is here.
A very slightly different translation can be found on the website of the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center: “Despite the historical injustice inflicted on the Palestinian Arab people resulting in their dispersion and depriving them of their right to self-determination, following upon UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947), which partitioned Palestine into two states, one Arab, one Jewish, yet it is this Resolution that still provides those conditions of international legitimacy that ensure the right of the Palestinian Arab people to sovereignty”. The JMCC translation is posted here.
Here are some further excerpts from this important Declaration of Independence, taken from the translation provided by the Observer Mission of Palestine, and circulated as official documents of the UN General Assembly and Security Council:
“In the heart of its homeland and on its periphery, in its places of exile near and far, the Palestinian Arab people has not lost its unwavering faith in its right to return nor its firm belief in its right to independence. Occupation, carnage and displacement have been unable to dispossess the Palestinians of their consciousness and their identity – their epic struggle has endured, and the formation of their national character has continued with the growing escalation of the struggle. The national will has established its political framework; and that is the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, as recognized by the international community and represented in the United Nations and its institutions and in other international and regional organizations…
“By virtue of the natural, historical and legal right of the Palestinian Arab people to its homeland, Palestine, and of the sacrifices of its succeeding generations in defence of the freedom and independence of that homeland,
Pursuant to the resolutions of the Arab Summit Conferences and on the basis of the international legitimacy embodied in the resolutions of the United Nations since 1947, and
Through the exercise by the Palestinian Arab people of its right to self-determination, political independence and sovereignty over its territory:
The Palestine National Council hereby declares, in the Name of God and on behalf of the Palestinian Arab people, the establishment of the State of Palestine in the land of Palestine with its capital at Jerusalem.
The State of Palestine shall be for Palestinians, wherever they may be therein to develop their national and cultural identity and therein to enjoy full equality of rights. Their religious and political beliefs and human dignity shall therein be safeguarded under a democratic parliamentary system based on freedom of opinion and the freedom to form parties, on the heed of the majority for minority rights and the respect of minorities for majority decisions, on social justice and equality, and on non-discrimination in civil rights on grounds of race, religion or colour or as between men and women, under a Constitution ensuring the rule of law and an independent judiciary and on the basis of true fidelity to the age-old spiritual and cultural heritage of Palestine with respect to mutual tolerance, coexistence and magnanimity among religions.
The State of Palestine shall be an Arab State and shall be an integral part of the Arab nation, of its heritage and civilization and of its present endeavour for the achievement of the goals of liberation, development, democracy and unity. In affirming its commitment to the Pact of the League of Arab States and its concern for the strengthening of joint Arab action, the State of Palestine calls upon the members of the Arab nation for their assistance in achieving its de facto emergence by mobilizing their capacities and intensifying the efforts made to bring the Israeli occupation to an end.
The State of Palestine declares its commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to the policy and principles of non-alignment.
The State of Palestine, in declaring that it is a peace-loving State committed to the principles of peaceful coexistence, shall strive, together with all other States and peoples, for the achievement of a lasting peace based on justice and respect for rights, under which the human potential for constructive activity may flourish, mutual competition may centre on life-sustaining innovation and there is no fear for the future, since the future bears only assurance for those who have acted justly or made amends to justice.
In the context of its struggle to bring peace to a land of peace and love, the State of Palestine calls upon the United Nations, which bears a special responsibility towards the Palestinian Arab people and its homeland, and upon the peace-loving States and peoples of the world and those that cherish freedom to assist it in achieving its goals, in bringing the plight of its people to an end, in ensuring the safety and security of that people and in endeavouring to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory…
“On this momentous day, the fifteenth day of November 1988, as we stand on the threshold of a new era, we bow our heads in deference and humility to the departed souls of our martyrs and the martyrs of the Arab nation who, by virtue of the pure blood shed by them, have lit the glimmer of this auspicious dawn and who have died so that the homeland might live. To the spirits of our righteous martyrs, to the masses of our Palestinian Arab people and our Arab nation and to all free and honourable men, we give our solemn pledge to continue the struggle for an end to the occupation and the establishment of sovereignty and independence”.
Tags: Palestinian Declaration of Independence, proclamation of a State of Palestine