At the climax of the greater popular Intifada and as the Arab and international solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people increased then, the PNC issued in its term in Algiers on November 15, 1988, the Document of the Declaration of Independence which received the consensus and support of the Palestinian masses in the homeland and in the Diaspora.

Nowadays, in light of the current and renewing Intifada, our masses in the homeland and in the Diaspora prepare to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on November 15, with greater strength and determination to continue in the Intifada and resistance against the Israeli aggression and occupation and siege until settlements end and until the Israeli occupation is evacuated and until the Palestinian people exercise their right in self determination through realizing on the ground the establishment of the Palestinian independent and fully sovereign state with al-Quds al-Shareef as its capital on all the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967: in Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, within the borders of the 4th of June 1967 and through securing the right of the Palestinian refugees in returning to their homes and properties from which they were evicted according to Resolution 194 and in accordance with international law and the UN resolutions and Charter.

Due to the legendary steadfastness of our people and because of the continuation of the Intifada and resistance for the last 14 months, international understanding to the cause and rights of our people has grown, in addition to the increasing solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people and their legitimate resistance against the Israeli aggression and occupation. The steadfastness of the Palestinian people also led to a political and diplomatic defeat of Israel at the international level and resulted in the isolation of Israel at the Arab and Islamic and international levels.

Due to the major positive impact caused by the Intifada at the international level, many of the major world leaders announced their support to the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and viable Palestinian state. However, talking about the Palestinian state is not enough any more and will remain incomplete as long as words are not linked to actions, especially by the US Administration which goes on in its blatant bias and support to the Israeli aggression and occupation and in showing hostility to the rights and legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.

The credibility of these positions depends on the extent to which those leaders can go in supporting the Palestinian state and this requires launching an international collective initiative in the context of the UN Security Council which should take a new, firm and binding decision to Israel stipulating that Israel must stop its aggression and siege on the Palestinian people and that international observers must be deployed to provide protection to our masses and replace the occupation troops on a temporary basis and set up a mechanism forcing Israel to withdraw from all Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including Jerusalem and within the borders of June 1967 and to have the Palestinian territories free from Israeli settlements and free from any Israeli military or security presence inside the Palestinian territories or on the borders with Jordan and Egypt and to have the Palestinian people control their skies and regional waters and natural resources and to allow them to consolidate their full sovereignty on Arab Jerusalem. The Palestinian state will guarantee the freedom to exercise religious rituals in the Holy Lands in Jerusalem and all over Palestine for the followers of all religions.

Palestine is a state to Palestinians wherever they are. In Palestine, Palestinians will enjoy full rights and their religious and political beliefs will be respected in light of a democratic republican parliamentarian system that is based on the principle of separation of the three authorities: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The state will be based on the right of freedom of press and public liberties and political pluralism and social justice and equality and non-discrimination in public rights under a constitution that believes in the rule of the law and independent judiciary and to abide by the UN Charter and its goals and the International Declaration of Human Rights; the state will be a peace loving country and will believe in peaceful means of solving regional and international conflicts according to UN resolutions and the international law along with its natural and inherent right if defending its territories and independence.

The Forces of the PLO affirm their rejection to the return to the policy of partial solutions and interim agreements and delaying the main issues, warning that dealing with the proposals of Sharon and Peres who call for holding interim agreements on the Palestinian state because they aim to Judaize Jerusalem, consolidate occupation on the majority of the Palestinian lands, eliminate the refugees cause and cause a split and disputes among the Palestinian people. The forces called on the Arab and Islamic masses, forces and countries for more solidarity and support to the struggle of the Palestinian people and to exert pressure on the US Administration to stop its blind bias to Israel and to force it to lead a more balanced policy towards settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of implementing the UN resolutions and enable the Palestinian people to establish their free and independent state.

Our great masses,
On the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we bow with awe and respect to the martyrs and we salute the heroic prisoners and courageous wounded and all those who defend the precious national soil.

We call on our masses in the homeland and in the Diaspora to continue in the battle of national independence until achieving victory and let us mark this anniversary with all forms of popular activities all over the homeland and in the Diaspora.

Defeat to occupation; Victory to the Intifada; Independence to our People

Fatah Movement,
PFLP,
DFLP,
The Palestinian People's Party,
The Arab Liberation Front,
The Brigades of Popular Liberation War "Sa'eqa",
The Popular Struggle Front,
The Palestinian democratic Union "Fida",
The Palestinian Liberation Front,
The Popular Front "General Command".

Palestine
November 14, 2001