The
State of Palestine ( ,
dawlat
filastin), officially simply
Palestine ( ,
filastin), is a political entity that enjoys
limited recognition
as a
state in
Palestine.
A Palestinian Declaration
of Independence was made by the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) on November 15
1988 in a meeting of the Palestine National Council (PNC)
in Algiers
.
The
declaration designated Jerusalem
as the capital of the state.
About 100 countries have
recognized the State of Palestine,
which is represented as a non-member observer entity at the
United Nations by the PLO under the
name 'Palestine'.
The Palestinian National
Authority (PNA or PA) is an interim administrative body that
exercises some governmental functions in parts of the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip
. Created by the
Oslo
Accords signed between Israel and the PLO, the PA is not a
synonym for the government of Palestine, though it is associated
with it. The current
President of
Palestine is
Mahmoud Abbas,
serving in his capacity as
Chairman of
the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Background
As a
geographic area, the definition of Palestine has varied throughout history, but
currently covers what is the modern state of Israel
, the
West
Bank up to the Jordan River
and the section of the Sinai
, known as
the Gaza
Strip. Ruled by the
Ottoman Empire (1518-1917), this area became
part of
Mandate Palestine after
the end of
World War I. While
Palestine's partition into an Arab state and
Jewish state were proposed as part of the 1947
United
Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, the Arabs refused the
partition plan, and only the Jewish state materialized, adopting
the name Israel as it was known at the time of the Kings of Israel.
Accordingly, Palestine is a country that does not appear on
contemporary political maps, but which is very much alive for its
people. Many of its people are
refugees who comprise a significant
segment of the
Palestinian
diaspora, accounting for why some Palestinians describe
Palestine as, "a country in exile." The
Palestinian people's struggle for
recognition of their, "political rights, including statehood, has
made this country-without-a-country, a continuing flashpoint for
tensions in the
Middle East since the
late 1920s."
1988 Declaration
The
Palestinian
Declaration of Independence was approved by the Palestinian National Council
(PNC) in Algiers on November 15, 1988, by a vote
of 253 in favour 46 against and 10 abstentions. It was read
by
Yasser Arafat at the closing
session of the 19th PNC to a standing ovation. Upon completing the
reading of the declaration, Arafat, as
Chairman of
the Palestine Liberation Organization assumed the title of
"President of Palestine."
Referring to "the historical injustice inflicted on the Palestinian
Arab people resulting in their dispersion and depriving them of
their
right to
self-determination," the declaration recalled the
Treaty of Lausanne (1923) and
UN General Assembly
Resolution 181 as supporting the rights of Palestinians and
Palestine.
The declaration then proclaims a "State of
Palestine on our Palestinian territory with its capital Jerusalem". The borders of the declared State of
Palestine were not specified.
By calling for multilateral negotiations on
the basis of UN
Security Council Resolution 242, which calls for Israeli
withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967
, the PNC seemed to be suggesting that it would
accept a state in the West
Bank and Gaza
Strip and that it no longer questioned Israel as a
state. The PNC's political communiqué accompanying the
declaration called only for withdrawal from "
Arab Jerusalem" and the other "Arab
territories occupied."
Yasser Arafat's
statements in Geneva a month later were accepted by the United
States as sufficient to remove the ambiguities it saw in the
declaration and to fulfill the longheld conditions for open
dialogue with the United
States
.
As a result of the declaration, the
United Nations General
Assembly (UNGA) convened, inviting Yasser Arafat, Chairman of
the PLO to give an address. An UNGA resolution was adopted
"acknowledging the proclamation of the State of Palestine by the
Palestine National Council on 15 November 1988," and it was further
decided that "the designation 'Palestine' should be used in place
of the designation 'Palestine Liberation Organization' in the
United Nations system."
One hundred and four
states voted for this resolution, forty-four abstained, and two -
the United
States and Israel - voted
against. By mid-December, 75 states had recognized
Palestine, rising to 89 states by February 1989.
The view of the
European states,
which did not extend full recognition was expressed by French
President
Francois Mitterrand
who stated: "Many European countries are not ready to recognize a
Palestine state. Others think that between recognition and
non-recognition there are significant degrees; I am among
these."But, after the PLO recognized the state of Israel,
Mitterrand welcomed the PLO leader, Yasir Arafat, in Paris, in May
1989.
Government structure
By the 1988 declaration, the PNC empowered its central council to
form a
government-in-exile when
appropriate, and called upon its executive committee to perform the
duties of the government-in-exile until its establishment.
Under the
terms of the Oslo Accords signed
between Israel and the PLO, the latter assumed control over the
Jericho
area of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on 17 May
1994. On September 28, 1995, following the signing
of the Israeli-Palestinian
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli
military forces withdrew from the West Bank towns of Nablus
, Ramallah
, ,Jericho, Jenin
, Tulkarem
, Qalqilya
and Bethlehem
. In December 1995, the PLO also assumed
responsibility for civil administration in 17 areas in Hebron
.
While the PLO assumed these responsibilities as a result of Oslo, a
new temporary interim administrative body was set up as a result of
the Accords to carry out these functions on the ground: the
Palestinian National
Authority (PNA).
An analysis outlining the relationship between the PLO, the PNA (or
PA), Palestine and Israel in light of the interim arrangements set
out in the Oslo Accords begins by stating that, "Palestine may best
be described as a transitional association between the PA and the
PLO."
It
goes on to explain that this transitional association accords the
PA responsibility for local government and the PLO responsibility
for representation of the Palestinian people in the international
arena, while prohibiting it from concluding international
agreements that affect the status of the occupied
territories
. This situation is said to be accepted by
the Palestinian population insofar as it is viewed as a temporary
arrangement.
Legal status
There are a wide variety of views regarding the status of the State
of Palestine, both among the states of the international community
and among legal scholars and there is no consensus as to its legal
status.
Alex Takkenberg writes that while "[...] there is no doubt that the
entity 'Palestine' should be considered a state
in statu nascendi and although it is
increasingly likely that the ongoing peace process will eventually
culminate in the establishment of a Palestinian state, it is
premature to conclude that statehood, as defined by international
law, is at present (spring 1997) firmly established." Referring to
the four criteria of statehood, as outlined in the 1933
Montevideo Convention - that is, a
permanent population, a defined territory, government and the
capacity to enter into relations with other states - Takkenberg
states that the entity known as Palestine does not fully satisfy
this criteria.
Conversely,
John V. Whitbeck writes that "[...] the State of
Palestine already exists," and that when, "Judged by these
customary criteria [those of the Montevideo Convention], the State
of Palestine is on at least as firm a legal footing as the State of
Israel." He continues: "The weak link in Palestine's claim to
already exist as a state was, until recently, the fourth criterion,
"effective control. [...] Yet a Palestinian executive and
legislature, democratically
elected with the enthusiastic approval of the international
community, now exercises 'effective control' over a portion of
Palestinian territory in which the great majority of the state's
population lives. It can no longer be seriously argued that
Palestine's claim to exist falls at the fourth and final
hurdle."
For
John Quigley, Palestine's existence
as a state predates the 1988 declaration. Tracing Palestine's
status as an international entity back to the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire after
World War I, he recalls that the
Palestine Mandate (1918-1948), an
arrangement made under Article 22 of the Covenant of the
League of Nations, held as its "ultimate
objective", the "
self-determination and independence of
the people concerned." He suggests that in explicitly referring to
the Covenant, the 1988 declaration was reaffirming an existing
Palestinian statehood.
Noting that Palestine under the Mandate
entered into bilateral treaties,
including one with Great
Britain
, the Mandatory power, he cites this as an example
of its "sovereignty" at that time.
In November 2009, Palestinian officials were reported to be
preparing the ground for asking for recognition of a Palestinian
State from the
Security Council.
The state
was envisioned to be based on the 1967 Green
Line
as an international border with Israel and East
Jerusalem as its capital. The plan was reported to have
support from Arab states, Russia and the UN Secretary General, Ban
Ki-moon.
States that recognize Palestine
centre
More than 100 states recognize the State of Palestine, and 17 more
grant some form of diplomatic status to a Palestinian delegation,
falling short of full diplomatic recognition.
The following are listed in alphabetical order by region.
Africa
Americas
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Oceania
Countries granting diplomatic status to non-State
representatives
States that do not recognize the State of Palestine but allow the
PLO to maintain a regional office in their countries are:
The delegations and embassies listed below on the left, are
recognized as the representatives of the Palestinian people by the
nations listed to their right:
- General Delegation of Palestine: Ireland
- Palestinian Special Delegation: Mexico
Representation in international organizations
United Nations representation
Palestine is an entity with special status at the UN. The
Palestine National Council (PNC)
sent formal notification to the U.N. Secretary-General regarding
the establishment of the
Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) in May 1964. The following year in October,
some Arab states requested that a PLO delegation be allowed to
attend meetings of the Special Political Committee, and it was
decided that they could present a statement, without implying
recognition. PLO participation in the discussions of the Committee
took place under the agenda item of the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in
the Near East (UNRWA) from 1963 to 1973.
The PLO gained observer status at the
United Nations General
Assembly in 1974 (General Assembly resolution 3237).
Acknowledging the proclamation of the State of Palestine, the UN
redesignated this observer status to 'Palestine' on 15 December
1988 in General Assembly resolution 43/177 and affirmed "the need
to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their sovereignty over
their territory occupied since 1967."
In July 1998, the
General Assembly adopted a new resolution (52/250) conferring upon
Palestine additional rights and privileges, including the right to
participate in the general debate held at the start of each session
of the General Assembly, the right of reply, the right to
co-sponsor resolutions and the right to raise points of order on
Palestinian
and Middle East
issues. By this resolution, "seating for Palestine shall be
arranged immediately after non-member States and before the other
observers."
This resolution was adopted by a vote of
124 in favor, 4 against (Israel, USA, Marshall Islands, Micronesia
) and 10 abstentions.
Organisation of the Islamic Conference
Palestine is a member of the international
Organisation of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) and the
Islamic Development Bank, an
international financial institution set up for member states.
Application to the WHO
The PLO, who holds observer status at the
World Health Organization (WHO),
applied for full membership status for the State of Palestine in
1989.
The United States, which provided one-quarter of the WHO's funding at
the time, informed the WHO that its funding would be withheld if
Palestine was admitted as a member state. Yasser Arafat
described the US statement as "blackmail". The PLO was asked to
withdraw its application by the WHO director general. The WHO
subsequently voted to postpone consideration of the application and
no action or decision on the application was ever taken.
John Quigley writes that Palestine's efforts to
gain membership in several international organizations connected to
the United Nations was frustrated by US threats to withhold funding
from any organization that admitted Palestine.
Arab League
Palestine is a member of the
Arab
League. Represented there since 1964 by the
Palestine Liberation
Organization, after the 1988 declaration of statehood, its
status was upgraded to full membership under the name 'Palestine'
with the
Chairman of
the Palestine Liberation Organization serving as 'president of
Palestine'.
Other memberships
Palestine is a member state in a number of international
organizations. In others, it enjoys affiliation in a lesser
capacity or under another designation (such as
PLO or
Occupied Palestinian
Territory). In the list below, if the membership is not full or
not for the state of Palestine, the type and name of affiliation is
denoted in parentheses.
See also
References
Bibliography
External links
OIC
members and Palestine The Statistical, Economic and Social
Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries
(Palestinian General Delegation)
(Palestinian General Delegation)
(Palestinian General Delegation)
(Palestinian General Delegation)
(Palestinian General Delegation)
(Asian Football Confederation)
(AFC)
(IOC)
(IPC)
(observer status)
(UPU) (special observer
status)
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