Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are gearing up for the first anniversary of the Palestine National Council’s proclamation of a Palestinian state in the territories.
The first anniversary of the declaration, made by Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat in Algiers, falls on Wednesday.
The Unified Command of the Palestinian uprising has declared the day a “national holiday.” All Palestinian institutions and factories will be closed.
Leaflet No. 48, issued by the intifada leadership in the West Bank on Saturday, instructs Palestinians to mark the anniversary by raising Palestinian flags, marching, releasing balloons and shooting off fireworks Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
The leaflet also calls for general strikes on Nov. 19, to protest against Israeli policy in the territories, and on Nov. 28, to protest U.N. decisions that allegedly ignore Palestinians’ rights.
The leaflet makes no mention of the five-point U.S. proposal for an Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, which has now been accepted by Israel. But it stresses that only the PLO can name the Palestinian delegates to any talks with Israel.
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