Palestinians celebrate the anniversary of their independence

Thousands of the Palestinians gathered in Nablus yesterday to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Palestinian independence day, one day before the scheduled additional withdrawal by Israel from more lands in the West Bank to be controlled by the Palestinian government.

The security forces fired guns in the air to celebrate in the main square of the city, as the participants in the march waved flags and photos of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. On the 15th of November 1988 in Algeria, Arafat then announced the independence of a Palestinian state-in-exile during the meeting of the Palestinian National Council, the Palestinian parliament in exile.

Local official Mohammed Alloul told the crowd that the people had started achieving the aim of the Palestinian lands' independence and establishing their state on it.

The participants in the crowd numbered nearly 15,000.

Alloul said he expects to reach an honorable peace on basis of international resolutions, Israeli withdrawal, the refugees' return and East Jerusalem as capital, adding that, "Without these things peace will not be achieved."