Palestinians mark 29 years for declaration of independence

The Palestinians on Wednesday marked 29 years for the declaration of independence and called for embodying an independent Palestinian state on the territories Israeli occupied in 1967 with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Late Palestinian leader Yaser Arafat, who died in a French Hospital on Nov. 11, 2004, made the Palestinian declaration of independence when the Palestinian National Council, better known as the Palestinian parliament in exile, was held in Algeria on Nov. 15, 1988.

To mark the historic day, the Palestinians held rallies in several West Bank and Gaza Strip areas, where the Palestinian government considered the day a national Palestinian holiday. They called on the international community to oblige Israel to make the Palestinian Independence Day a reality on the ground.

Hanan Ashrawi, the member in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, said in an emailed press statement that the declaration of independence "was a unique step forward in the Palestinian history, and found a real identity for the Palestinian people and their just cause."

"The document of the declaration of independence includes the basic principles for the basic Palestinian law that prepared for the establishment of the state of Palestine that will be built up on the sovereignty of law," she said, adding "the document put the basics for the Palestinians' self-determination."

Ashrawi called on the international community "to work together with the Palestinians to oblige Israel to stop all its unilateral violations to the international resolutions and conventions, mainly in the city of Jerusalem and the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank." The ministry of information of the Palestinian National Authority also said in a statement that the document of the declaration of independence "is a document that put the basics for the independent Palestinian state and brought a broader recognition of most of the world's states."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party also said in an official statement that the declaration of independence "was an important station in the history of the Palestinian struggle against the occupation and the struggle for freedom and independence." "The Palestinian declaration of independence was a document that guaranteed the legitimate rights of the Palestinians in having their own independent state, and gaining their rights of return or compensation for Palestinian refugees," said Fatah statement, referring that there are 11 million Palestinians all over the world.

Other Palestinian left-wing parties, which are members in PLO's executive committee, stressed that the Palestinians won't stop their struggle until they gain their freedom they deserve and establish their independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The Palestinians marked the declaration of independence while the peace process has been stalled since April 2014, when the Israeli-Palestinian U.S.-sponsored talks had failed to agree on basic issues, mainly settlements, borders and security, after talking for nine months.