Yasser Arafat proclaimed the State of Palestine on 15 November 1988 in Algiers, reading a declaration of independence adopted by the Palestine National Council. Issued during the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, the declaration named Jerusalem as the capital and set the stage for a United Nations vote acknowledging the proclamation one month later.
The declaration in Algiers
Arafat was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) when he read the declaration, which was written by the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. The council met in Algeria as the first intifada, which had begun in December 1987, continued in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In a separate political statement, the council called for an international peace conference based on UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338. It also called for Israel to withdraw from territories it had occupied since the 1967 war and sought security arrangements for all states in the region, including the proclaimed Palestinian state. The declaration named Jerusalem as the capital and left the state’s borders unspecified.
The United Nations responds
On 15 December 1988, the UN General Assembly acknowledged the proclamation in a vote of 104 in favour, two against and 36 abstentions. The assembly also decided that the UN system would use the designation Palestine in place of Palestine Liberation Organisation, while retaining the delegation’s existing observer status and functions.
From Oslo to observer state status
In September 1993, the PLO recognised Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, and Israel recognised the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people. The Oslo process established a framework for interim Palestinian self-government and deferred questions such as borders, Jerusalem and refugees to later negotiations.
On 29 November 2012, the General Assembly granted Palestine non-member observer state status by 138 votes to nine, with 41 abstentions. That decision raised Palestine’s standing at the UN. Full membership requires a separate General Assembly decision following a Security Council recommendation.
Newshub Editorial in Asia – 15 November 2026
Yasser Arafat proclaimed the State of Palestine on 15 November 1988 in Algiers, reading a declaration of independence adopted by the Palestine National Council. Issued during the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, the declaration named Jerusalem as the capital and set the stage for a United Nations vote acknowledging the proclamation one month later.
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