Embassy of the State of Palestine

Visiting Gaza on Tuesday for the first time since this summer’s 50-day war between Israel and Hamas, the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, said the destruction was “beyond description,” even as reconstruction efforts were underway for the first time.

“No amount of Security Council sessions, reports or briefings could have prepared me for what I witnessed today,” Mr. Ban told reporters after touring some of the most badly damaged areas of the Gaza Strip and visiting a United Nations school that was shelled during the fighting.

Identical letters sent by Ambassador Dr. Riyad Mansour to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the President of the Security Council and the President of the General Assembly on Clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque and other Israeli violations

PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, welcomed the vote of the British Parliament urging its government to recognize the State of Palestine: “On behalf of the Palestinian people and its leadership, I would like to thank everyone who worked to bring about this vote. The recognition of Palestine and its people is both a principled decision and a significant step towards justice and peace.”

PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, met with French Consul General, Hervé Magro, at the PLO Headquarters in Ramallah and stressed the following:
“The status quo is untenable; we are witnessing the end of the two-state solution. Thus, it is of the utmost urgency for Europe and other members of the international community to recognize the State of Palestine, to adopt bold political steps and undertake a serious initiative to address Israel’s ongoing violations of international law, and to put an end to Israel’s impunity and its military occupation of Palestine.”

Bishop Declan Lang, Chair of the Bishops' Conference Department for International Affairs, and the Church of England's Lead Bishop for Foreign Affairs, the Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, have released a joint statement on the parliamentary motion to recognise Palestine as an independent state.

Palestinian presidan and Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee started his speech by showing gratitude for the participating sides.

"I would like first to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the chairs of this conference, for all cosponsors, and for all the states and organizations present here today. Your acceptance of this invitation and your presence here, goes to show both the nobility of your intentions and your willingness to support the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip."

A few days ahead of the British parliamentary vote on the recognition of the State of Palestine, PLO Executive Committee member, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, met with correspondents from British media outlets in Palestine to reiterate the official call of the PLO for all states to recognize the State of Palestine as a “human, moral, legal, and political imperative.”

International Conference in Support of the Reconstruction
of Gaza Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, October 2014

RAMALLAH (Ma'an)08 October 2014 -- President Mahmoud Abbas warned Israel on Wednesday against turning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict into a religious war, stressing that recent attacks on Muslim worshipers in the Al-Aqsa mosque threatened to nature of the national struggle.

RAMALLAH (AFP) -- Sweden's decision to recognize a Palestinian state is "courageous," senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said Friday, calling on other EU states to follow suit.