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The Palestinian National Council (PNC) is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization regarded by the Arab League since October 1974 as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."...
 and elects its Executive Committee, which assumes leadership of the organization between its sessions. The Council normally meets every two years. Resolutions are passed by a simple majority with a quorum of two-thirds.

The first PNC, composed of 422 representatives, met in Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
 in May 1964 and adopted the Palestinian National Covenant
Palestinian National Covenant

The Palestinian National Covenant or Palestinian National Charter is the charter or constitution of the Palestine Liberation Organization ....
 (also called Palestinian National Charter).






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The Palestinian National Council (PNC) is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization regarded by the Arab League since October 1974 as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."...
 and elects its Executive Committee, which assumes leadership of the organization between its sessions. The Council normally meets every two years. Resolutions are passed by a simple majority with a quorum of two-thirds.

The first PNC, composed of 422 representatives, met in Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
 in May 1964 and adopted the Palestinian National Covenant
Palestinian National Covenant

The Palestinian National Covenant or Palestinian National Charter is the charter or constitution of the Palestine Liberation Organization ....
 (also called Palestinian National Charter). It also established the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization

The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization regarded by the Arab League since October 1974 as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."...
 (PLO) as the political expression of the Palestinian people and elected Ahmad Al-Shuqeiry
Ahmad Shukeiri

Ahmad Shukeiri , was the first Arab Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization from 1964?1967.Shukeiri was born in Lebanon then Ottoman Empire to the Arab father Sheikh As'ad Shukeiri , and a Turkish people mother....
 as the first chairman of the PLO Executive Committee. At the conference were representatives from Palestinian communities in Jordan
Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba....
, West Bank
West Bank

The West Bank is the eastern Part of the Palestinian territories on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel....
, the Gaza strip
Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north....
, Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
, Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
, Kuwait
Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west....
, Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, Qatar
Qatar

Qatar , officially the State of Qatar , is an Arab emirate in Southwest Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the larger Arabian Peninsula....
, Libya
Libya

Libya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, and Algeria
Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
.

Subsequent sessions were held in Cairo
Cairo

Cairo , which means "the triumphant", is the Cairo and largest city of Egypt.It is the most populous metropolitan area in Egypt and is also one of the most populous in the world....
 (1965), Gaza (1966), Cairo (1968 – 1977), Damascus
Damascus

Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is List of oldest continuously inhabited cities and its current population is estimated at about 4,000,000....
 (1979 – 1981), Algiers (1983), Amman
Amman

Amman , sometimes spelled Ammann , is the Capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a city of 2,525,000 inhabitants , and the administrative capital and commercial center of Jordan....
 (1984), and Gaza (1996 and 1998).

At the February 1969 meeting in Cairo, Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat

Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his Kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian people leader....
 was appointed leader of the PLO. He continued to be PLO leader (sometimes called Chairman, sometimes President) until his death in 2004.

In a November 1988 meeting in Algiers
Algiers

Algiers Nicknamed El-Bahdja or Alger la Blanche for the glistening white of its buildings as seen rising up from the sea, Algiers is situated on the west side of a bay of the Mediterranean Sea....
, the PNC unilaterally declared the independence of the Arab State of Palestine.

After the signing of the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords

The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles was a milestone in the Palestinian - Israeli conflict....
, the PNC met in Gaza
Gaza

Gaza is a Palestinian people city in the Gaza Strip, approximately southwest of Jerusalem, with a population of 410,000, making it the largest city under the control of the Palestinian National Authority....
 in April 1996 and voted 504 to 54 to void parts of the Palestinian National Covenant
Palestinian National Covenant

The Palestinian National Covenant or Palestinian National Charter is the charter or constitution of the Palestine Liberation Organization ....
 that denied Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
's right to exist
Right to exist

The 'right to exist' is a phrase of unknown Absent referent used in the context of recognition between nation states. The phrase is also used as a qualified principle of international law when referring to asserted rights of nations and peoples to Right of self-defense, as in "every nation has the right to exist, and to protect and to conser...
, but the charter itself was not been formally changed or re-drafted. One its most prominent members, the Palestinian-American scholar and activist Edward Said
Edward Said

Edward Wadie Sa?d Royal Society of Literature was a Palestinian American Literary theory, cultural critic, and an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights....
, left the PNC because he believed that the Oslo Accords
Oslo Accords

The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles was a milestone in the Palestinian - Israeli conflict....
 sold short the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in pre-1967 Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 and would not lead to a lasting peace.

In December 1998, the PNC met in Gaza
Gaza

Gaza is a Palestinian people city in the Gaza Strip, approximately southwest of Jerusalem, with a population of 410,000, making it the largest city under the control of the Palestinian National Authority....
 at the insistence of the Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
i Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the new Prime Minister-Designate of Israel. He is Chairman of the conservative Likud Party and was previously the 9th Prime Minister of Israel from June 1996 to July 1999....
, who called it a condition on the continuation of the peace process. In the presence of the US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 President Clinton
Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the fifteenth Democrat elected to that office....
, it reaffirmed again the annulling of the parts of the Covenant which denied Israel's right to exist, but it still did not formally change or re-draft the Covenant.

, the PNC is chaired by Salim Zanoun and has 669 members; 88 are from the Palestinian Legislative Council
Palestinian Legislative Council

The Palestinian Legislative Council, the legislature of the Palestinian Authority, is a unicameral body with Current members of Palestinian Legislative Council, elected from 16 electoral districts in the West Bank and Gaza....
 (PLC), 98 represent the Palestinian population living in the West Bank
West Bank

The West Bank is the eastern Part of the Palestinian territories on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel....
 and Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip

The Gaza Strip is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north....
, and 483 represent the Palestinian diaspora.

See also

  • State of Palestine
  • Palestinian Declaration of Independence
    Palestinian Declaration of Independence

    The Palestinian Declaration of Independence was an attempt to create a "Palestinian state" . It was adopted by the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization , in Algiers on 15 November, 1988....