The 1988 Proclamation of the State of Palestine in Algiers

On 15 November 1988, the Palestinian National Council proclaimed the State of Palestine at an extraordinary meeting held one year after the start of the First Intifada. Algeria, then under the presidency of Chadli Bendjedid, offered its capital, Algiers, as the stage for this historic declaration, placing the country at the heart of Arab diplomacy in support of the Palestinian cause.

In this photo, Yasser Arafat, then chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), wears the black-and-white keffiyeh. In the 1930s, this scarf became symbolic of the Arab resistance to the British Mandate and of the Palestinian identity. Arafat wears it draped over his shoulder and arranged in a point to evoke the map of Palestine. The PLO leader beams with joy, arms aloft in celebration: no longer just the head of an armed group, he is now president of his people. He stands beside his host Chadli Bendjedid. Their raised and joined hands dominate the composition, a gesture that conveys victory, fraternity and mutual recognition.

On the other side of the Algerian president stands Sheikh Abd al-Hamid al-Sayih, the president of the Palestinian Parliament in exile. He wears a traditional white tarboosh trimmed with red, signifying both respect for tradition and a form of institutional neutrality, in contrast to the keffiyeh, which was more militant and popular.

Between Yasser Arafat and Abd al-Hamid al-Sayih, the Algerian leader Bendjedid’s central position highlights that the proclamation of the Palestinian State was not merely the initiative of a charismatic leader, but the expression of a collective Arab decision to recognize Palestine’s right to exist.

Following the declaration of Palestinian independence, about fifty countries recognized it then and in the week that followed. They included the states of the Arab League, most African and Asian countries, as well as those of the former Eastern Bloc including the Soviet Union. This reflected an affirmed solidarity of the non-Western world with the Palestinian cause.

From the 1988 Algiers proclamation to the recent coordinated announcements in 2025, the Palestinian struggle for international recognition continues to unfold through global diplomacy. Ten countries have just announced their official recognition of the State of Palestine to coincide with the 80^th anniversary of the UN General Assembly: Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Portugal and the United Kingdom. This collective act of solidarity comes as Israel’s war in Gaza continues and the world presses for a two-state solution.