Arafat: No retreat concerning decision of declaring the Palestinian state in the current year

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said he will declare the establishment of the independent state whether the Palestinians reach a peace agreement with Israel or not.

Arafat added in an address he delivered yesterday at the opening of the fifth session of Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah that the national independence decision is inevitable, including the time ceiling determined by the agreements.

He declared that the current year is a year for the independent Palestinian state, assuring the Palestinian people's adherence to peace as a choice to achieve their ambitions and to restore legal national rights.