Minister Shaath: Independent Palestine to be announced May 4

Palestinian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nabil Shaath confirmed that the Palestinian government will announce the Palestinian state not only in the liberated area, but it will cover all Palestinian lands that were occupied in 1967 and its capital, Jerusalem.

In statements on the margin of Arab League council yesterday, Shaath said this issue comes out of the Oslo agreement itself, which specifies that the final date for all agreements is May 4, 1999 and said that if May 99 passed without declaring an independent Palestinian state, "May 4 is a sacred date to us, and whether we have reached an agreement or not (with the Israelis) we will finally declare our state and we will continue liberating what remains of our lands."

He added that Arab support is ongoing, and the 114 states at the recent Non-Aligned Summit announced their collective approval toward recognizing the Palestinian State and its sovereignty over its land.

"We are in contact with the European countries and the U.S. who have yet to agree to recognize the state, and we are confident that Europe will give support once we make the announcement" he said.

Preparations will be ongoing to ensure a world wide support and celebrations on the 4th of may for the proclamation of Palestine as an independent country.