On November 15, 1988, the Palestine National Council, the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), proclaimed the establishment of an independent State of Palestine during an extraordinary meeting in Algiers, Algeria. The declaration was delivered while the Palestinian leadership was in exile and followed years of conflict and demands for self-determination. It identified Jerusalem as the capital of the proposed state.
The declaration became a defining milestone in Palestinian political history and the international diplomatic debate over Palestinian statehood. In December 1988, the United Nations General Assembly acknowledged the proclamation and adopted the designation Palestine within the UN system, marking an important development in the international recognition of Palestinian national aspirations.