The Palestine Liberation Organization is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people. Founded in 1964, it initially sought to establish an Arab state over the entire territory of the former Mandatory Palestine, advocating the elimination of the State of Israel. However, in 1993, the PLO recognized Israeli sovereignty with the Oslo I Accord, and now only seeks Arab statehood in the Palestinian territories that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.
The history of the State of Palestine describes the creation and evolution of the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has referred to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as "the Occupied Palestinian Territory", and this term was used as the legal definition by the ICJ in its advisory opinion of July 2004. The term occupied Palestinian territory was used by the United Nations and other international organizations between October 1999 and December 2012 to refer to areas controlled by the Palestinian National Authority, but from 2012, when Palestine was admitted as one of its non-member observer states, the United Nations started using exclusively the name State of Palestine. The European Union (EU) also uses the term "occupied Palestinian territory". The government of Israel and its supporters use the label "disputed territories" instead.
The politics of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) take place within the framework of a semi-presidential multi-party republic, with a legislative council, an executive president, and a prime minister leading the cabinet.
The United Kingdom does not recognise Palestine as a state. The UK has a non-accredited Consulate General in Jerusalem that "represents the UK government in Jerusalem, West Bank, and Gaza", and works on "political, commercial, security and economic interests between the UK and the Palestinian territories". Husam Zomlot became head of the Palestine Mission to the United Kingdom in 2018. The State of Palestine was represented in London by Manuel Hassassian, the Palestinian General Delegate to the United Kingdom between 2005 and 2018. Another former Palestinian General Delegate to the UK was Afif Safieh, who began in that role in 1990.
Political relations between the State of Palestine and the United States have been complex and strained since the 1960s. While the U.S. does not recognize the State of Palestine, it recognizes the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the legitimate representative entity for the Palestinian people; following the Oslo Accords, it recognized the Palestinian National Authority as the legitimate Palestinian government of the Palestinian territories.
The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the diplomatic mission of China in the United Kingdom, located in London. Established in 1877 as the Chinese Legation, the London mission was China's first permanent overseas diplomatic mission. It has served as the diplomatic mission of the Manchu Qing Empire, the Republic of China, and the People's Republic of China. It was the location of the Qing Empire's detention of Sun Yat-sen, an important episode in the Chinese revolution of 1911. It remains today the focal point for events relating to China held in the United Kingdom, including celebrations in 2012 to commemorate 40 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and the People's Republic of China.
The foreign relations of the State of Palestine have been conducted since the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964. Since the Oslo Accords, it seeks to obtain universal recognition for the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. As of 4 April 2024, 140 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states officially recognize the State of Palestine.
The State of Palestine has been accepted as an observer state of the United Nations General Assembly in November 2012. As of 4 April 2024, 140 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states have recognized the State of Palestine.
The High Commission of the Maldives in London is the diplomatic mission of the Maldives in the United Kingdom.
The High Commission of Malaysia in London is the diplomatic mission of Malaysia in the United Kingdom. Prior to independence the then-Malaya had a Commission in London; this was upgraded to a full High Commission upon independence in 1957. It was initially located on Trafalgar Square before relocating to Great Portland Street; it then moved to its current location in the mid 1960s.
Mexico–Palestine relations are the diplomatic relations between the United Mexican States and the State of Palestine. Both nations are members of UNESCO.
The Embassy of the State of Palestine in Syria is the diplomatic mission of Palestine in Syria. It is located in Murshid Khater St. in Damascus.
The General Delegation of the State of Palestine in the Federal Republic of Germany is the diplomatic mission of the Palestine in Germany in the absence of fully normalized relations. It is located in Berlin. The German Democratic Republic recognized the State of Palestine in 1988 prior to the German reunification in 1990 with West Germany. It was only recently upgraded to a diplomatic mission from a representative office as part of the normalization of relations between the two countries
