Officeholders whose status is disputed are shown in italics |
Member state of the Arab League |
Palestineportal |
The foreign relations of the State of Palestine have been conducted since the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964. [1] 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 of2June2023,139 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states officially recognize the State of Palestine (Israel is recognized by 165).
In November 1988, the Palestinian National Council declared the independence of the State of Palestine, and in 1994, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was established following the Oslo Accords. The PLO Executive Committee performs the functions of the government of the State of Palestine.
After 2011, the PLO's diplomatic effort focused on the Palestine 194 campaign, which aims to gain membership for the State of Palestine in the United Nations. In November 2012, the State of Palestine was accepted as a non-member observer state of the UN General Assembly with the passing of United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19. [2] [3]
The Palestine Liberation Organization was created in 1964 as a paramilitary organization and has sought to conduct foreign relations with states and international organisations since that time. [1] Initially, the PLO established relations with Arab and communist countries. In 1969 the PLO became a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. [4] [5] In October 1974, the Arab League designated the PLO as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". [6] The new status of the PLO was recognised by all Arab League states except Jordan (Jordan recognised that status of the PLO at a later stage). On 22 November 1974, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3236 recognised the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence, and sovereignty in Palestine. It also recognised the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people to the United Nations. By Resolution 3237 on the same date, the PLO was granted non-State observer status at the United Nations. [7] [8] In September 1976, the PLO became a non-state member of the Arab League, and in the same year became a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
On 15 November 1988, in support of the First Intifada, the PLO declared the establishment of the State of Palestine, which was widely recognised by many foreign governments, [9] although often statements made were of an equivocal nature [10] – at times referring to the PLO or the State of Palestine or one acting on behalf of the other, or by the generic "Palestine". Many countries and organisations "upgraded" representation from the PLO to the new State, though in practice the same PLO offices, personnel and contacts continued to be used. In February 1989 at the United Nations Security Council, the PLO representative claimed recognition from 94 states. [11] [12] Since then, additional states have publicly extended recognition.
The PNA was established by the PLO in 1994 following the Oslo Accords and the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement. The Israeli government transferred certain powers and responsibilities of self-government to the PNA, which are in effect in parts of the West Bank, and used to be effective in the Gaza Strip before its takeover by Hamas. The Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, who since July 2007 has been Riyad Al-Maliki, is responsible for the foreign relations of the PNA. States maintain official relations with the PNA through offices in the Palestinian territories, and the representation of the PNA abroad is accomplished by the missions of the PLO, who represents it there.
Both the PLO (representing itself, the State of Palestine, or the PNA) and the PNA now maintain an extensive network of diplomatic relations, [13] and participate in multiple international organisations with status of member state, observer, associate, or affiliate. The designation "Palestine", adopted in 1988 by the UN for the PLO, [14] is currently also used as reference to the PNA and the State of Palestine by states and international organisations, in many cases regardless of the level of recognition and relations they have with any of these entities.
The Palestine Liberation Organization maintains a network of missions and embassies, [15] and represents the Palestinian National Authority abroad. [15] [16] Most of the 139 states that have recognised the State of Palestine have elevated the Palestinian representation in their country to the status of embassy. [17] A number of other states have granted some form of diplomatic status to a PLO delegation, falling short of full diplomatic recognition. In some cases, as a matter of courtesy, these delegations and missions have been granted diplomatic privileges, [17] and are often referred to as "embassies" with their heads as "ambassadors". [18]
In the United States, an unofficial PLO information office was established in New York in 1964 and run by Sadat Hassan, who served as Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations. [19] The Palestine Information Office was then registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent and operated until 1968, when it was closed. The PLO was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in 1987, [20] [21] but in 1988 a presidential waiver was issued which permitted contact with the organization. [22] A PLO office was reopened in 1989 as the Palestine Affairs Center. [23] The PLO Mission office, in Washington D.C., was opened in 1994, and represented the PLO in the United States. On 20 July 2010, the United States Department of State agreed to upgrade the status of the PLO Mission in the United States to "General Delegation of the PLO". [24]
States that recognise the State of Palestine maintain their diplomatic missions to Palestine in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, in the West Bank.
State | Relations established [25] | Palestinian representation | Foreign mission in Palestine | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Algeria | 16 December 1988 [26] | Embassy (Algiers) [27] | Embassy, non-resident (Tunis) [28] | Arab League, OIC; Algeria–Palestine relations |
Angola | 6 December 1988 | Embassy (Luanda) [29] | — | — |
Benin | May 1989 | Embassy, non-resident (Lagos) [30] [31] | OIC | |
Botswana | 8 March 2017 [32] | |||
Burkina Faso | 21 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Bamako) [33] [34] | OIC; Burkina Faso-Palestine relations | |
Cameroon | Yes [35] [ when? ] | OIC | ||
Chad | 1 December 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Bamako) [29] | OIC | |
Comoros | 21 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Djibouti) [29] | Arab League, OIC | |
Republic of the Congo | 5 December 1988 | Embassy (Brazzaville)[ citation needed ] | — | |
Côte d'Ivoire | Yes[ when? ] | Embassy (Abidjan) [36] | OIC | |
Djibouti | 17 November 1988 | Embassy (Djibouti) [29] | Arab League, OIC; Djibouti–Palestine relations | |
Egypt | 18 November 1988 | Embassy (Cairo) [29] | Embassy, non-resident[ citation needed ] Office (Ramallah, Gaza)[ citation needed ] | Arab League, OIC; Egypt–Palestine relations |
Eritrea | Yes [37] [ when? ] | Embassy, non-resident (Djibouti) [29] | — | |
Eswatini | July 1991 | Embassy, non-resident (Maputo) [38] | — | — |
Ethiopia | 4 February 1989 [39] | Embassy (Addis Ababa) [40] | — Ethiopia–Palestine relations | |
Gabon | 12 December 1988 | Embassy (Libreville)[ citation needed ] | Embassy, non-resident (Cairo)[ citation needed ] | OIC |
Gambia | 18 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Dakar) [41] | OIC | |
Ghana | 29 November 1988 | Embassy (Accra) [42] | Embassy, non-resident (Cairo)[ citation needed ] | — |
Guinea | 21 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Dakar) [29] [43] | OIC | |
Guinea-Bissau | 21 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Dakar) [29] | OIC | |
Kenya | May 1989 | Embassy, non-resident (Harare) [29] [44] | — Kenya–Palestine relations | |
Lesotho | 30 September 2021 [45] | Embassy, non-resident (Pretoria) | ||
Libya | 15 November 1988 | Embassy (Tripoli) [46] | Embassy, non-resident (Cairo)[ citation needed ] | Arab League, OIC; Libya–Palestine relations |
Malawi | 23 October 1998 | Embassy, non-resident (Cairo) [47] | Embassy, non-resident (Harare) [48] | — |
Mali | 21 November 1988 | Embassy (Bamako) [33] [49] | Embassy, non-resident (Cairo) [33] [50] | OIC |
Mauritania | 15 November 1988 | Embassy (Nouakchott) [29] [51] | Arab League, OIC | |
Mauritius | 17 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Dar es Salaam) [52] | — | |
Morocco | 31 January 1989 [53] | Embassy (Rabat) [54] | Office (Ramallah, Gaza) [55] | Arab League, OIC; Morocco–Palestine relations |
Mozambique | 31 January 1989 [56] | Embassy (Maputo) [57] On January 31, 1989, officially inaugurated the embassy of the Palestinian state in Maputo [56] | OIC | |
Namibia | 19 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Pretoria) [58] | — Namibia–Palestine relations | |
Niger | 24 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Bamako) [29] | OIC | |
Nigeria | 1984 [59] | Embassy (Abuja) [60] | Embassy, non-resident (Cairo)[ citation needed ] | OIC; Nigeria–Palestine relations |
Senegal | 1 December 1981 [61] | Embassy (Dakar) [62] | OIC | |
Seychelles | 18 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Dar es Salaam) [63] | — | |
Somalia | 15 November 1988 | Embassy, non-resident (Djibouti) [29] | Arab League, OIC | |
South Africa | 15 February 1995 [64] | Embassy (Pretoria) [65] | Office (Ramallah, Gaza) [64] [66] [67] | —; Palestine–South Africa relations |
Sudan | 17 November 1988 | Embassy (Khartoum) [68] [69] | Arab League, OIC; Palestine–Sudan relations | |
Tanzania | 24 November 1988 | Embassy (Dar es Salaam) [70] [71] | Embassy, non-resident (Cairo) [70] | — Palestine–Tanzania relations |
Tunisia | 1994 [72] | Embassy (Tunis) [29] | Office (Ramallah) [73] | Arab League, OIC; Palestine–Tunisia relations |
Uganda | 15 February 1989 [74] | Embassy (Kampala) [29] | OIC | |
Zambia | 16 November 1988 | Embassy (Lusaka) [29] | — | |
Zimbabwe | 29 November 1988 | Embassy (Harare) [44] [75] | Embassy, non-resident (Cairo)[ citation needed ] | — Palestine–Zimbabwe relations |
State | Relations established | Palestinian representation | Foreign mission in Palestine | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | 23 August 2000 [149] [302] | General delegation (Canberra) [149] | Office (Ramallah) | — Australia–Palestine relations |
New Zealand | Yes [149] [ when? ] | General delegation, non-resident (Canberra) [149] | — | — New Zealand–Palestine relations |
Papua New Guinea | 4 October 2004 [149] [303] | Embassy, non-resident (Canberra) [149] | — | — |
Vanuatu | 19 October 1989 [304] | Embassy, non-resident (Canberra) [149] | — |
The State of Palestine is represented in various international organizations as member, associate or observer.
In 1964, the first summit of the League of Arab States, held in Cairo in January, resulted in a mandate for the creation of a Palestinian entity. [355] [356] Subsequently, in May, the Palestine Liberation Organization was established during a meeting of the Palestinian National Congress in Arab-controlled Jerusalem. [357] The organisation's establishment was formally approved at the Arab League's second summit, held in Alexandria in October. [358] The PLO was granted full membership in 1976. [359] Its seat was assumed by the State of Palestine following the declaration of independence in 1988. [359] [ specify ]
The PLO was accorded full membership in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC; now named Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) in 1969; [5] it attended the founding conference, held in Rabat in September 1969, as an observer. [360] Its seat was assumed by the State of Palestine following the declaration of independence in 1988.[ specify ] It is also a member of the Islamic Development Bank, an international financial institution for member states of the OIC. [361] [362]
The Palestine National Council (PNC) sent formal notification to the U.N. Secretary-General regarding the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in May 1964. The following year in October, some Arab states requested that a PLO delegation be allowed to attend meetings of the Special Political Committee, and it was decided that they could present a statement, without implying recognition. PLO participation in the discussions of the Committee took place under the agenda item of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from 1963 to 1973. [363]
The Palestine Liberation Organization was granted observer status at the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 through General Assembly Resolution 3237. In the UNGA's regional groupings, the PLO gained full membership in the Group of Asian states on 2 April 1986. [note 8] Acknowledging the proclamation of the State of Palestine, [364] the UN re-designated this observer to be referred to as "Palestine" in 1988 (General Assembly Resolution 43/177) and affirmed "the need to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their sovereignty over their territory occupied since 1967". [364] [365] In July 1998, the General Assembly adopted a new Resolution (52/250) conferring upon Palestine additional rights and privileges, including the right to participate in the general debate held at the start of each session of the General Assembly, the right of reply, the right to co-sponsor resolutions and the right to raise points of order on Palestinian and Middle East issues. [366] By this resolution, "seating for Palestine shall be arranged immediately after non-member States and before the other observers." [366] This Resolution was adopted by a vote of 124 in favour, 4 against (Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, United States) and 10 abstentions. [367] [368]
Since 2011, Palestinian diplomacy has been centred around the Palestine 194 campaign, which aims to gain membership for the State of Palestine in the United Nations at its 66th Session in September 2011. It seeks to effectively gain collective recognition for a Palestinian state based on the borders prior to the Six-Day War, with East Jerusalem as its capital. In September 2012, the Palestine Liberation Organization submitted a draft resolution according non-member observer state status to Palestine, [369] [370] which the General Assembly approved on 29 November 2012. [339] The change in status was described by The Independent as "de facto recognition of the sovereign State of Palestine". [371]
The vote was a historic benchmark for the sovereign State of Palestine and its citizens, whilst it was a diplomatic setback for Israel and the United States. Status as an observer state in the UN will allow the State of Palestine to join treaties and specialised UN agencies, such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation, [372] the Law of the Seas Treaty and the International Criminal Court. It shall permit Palestine to claim legal rights over its territorial waters and air space as a sovereign state recognised by the UN. It shall also provide the citizens of Palestine with the right to sue for control of their territory in the International Court of Justice and with the legal right to bring war-crimes charges, mainly those relating to the unlawful Israeli occupation of the State of Palestine, against Israel in the International Criminal Court. [373]
After Palestine was granted UN observer status, the UN authorised the PLO to title its representative office to the UN as 'The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations', [374] and Palestine re-titled its name accordingly on postal stamps, official documents and passports, [375] [376] whilst it has instructed its diplomats to officially represent 'The State of Palestine', as opposed to the 'Palestine National Authority'. [375] Additionally, on 17 December 2012, UN Chief of Protocol Yeocheol Yoon decided that "the designation of 'State of Palestine' shall be used by the Secretariat in all official United Nations documents", [377] thus recognising the PLO-proclaimed State of Palestine as being sovereign over the territories of Palestine and its citizens under international law.
On 13 June 2014, the State of Palestine became a party to the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague; the State of Palestine acceded to the Rome Statute on 2 January 2015. [378]
Before the United Nations General Assembly voting in September 2012, the Palestinian Authority had tried to become a party to the Rome Statute and therefore recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2009 and again in April 2012. [379] [380] According to The Jerusalem Post, "had the ICC accepted the PA's recognition of its jurisdiction, it would have also tacitly accepted its statehood." [381]
In June 2006, a decision by the 29th International Conference of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent admitted the Palestine Red Crescent Society as a full member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The State of Palestine has been a full member of the Geneva Conventions since 2 April 2014.
In 1989, just one year after the proclamation of the State of Palestine, the Palestine Liberation Organization had tried to accede to the Geneva Conventions back in 1989, but Switzerland, as the depositary state, had stated that because the question of Palestinian statehood had not been settled within the international community, it was incapable of recognising Palestine as a "power" that could accede to the Conventions. [382]
The State of Palestine is a full member of the International Olympic Committee, [383] of the International Paralympic Committee, [384] and of FIFA. [385]
On 28 September 2023, a majority of the members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved a proposal for the State of Palestine to be recognized, with that name, as an observer state to the Agency. [Note 1]
The PLO currently holds observer status at the World Health Organization (WHO). It had applied for full membership status as far back as 1989, when the United States, which provided one-quarter of the WHO's funding at the time, informed the WHO that its funding would be withheld if Palestine was admitted as a member state. Yasser Arafat described the U.S. statement as "blackmail". The PLO was asked to withdraw its application by the WHO director general. The WHO subsequently voted to postpone consideration of the application and no decision on the application has been made yet. [382] John Quigley writes that Palestine's efforts to gain membership in several international organisations connected to the United Nations was frustrated by U.S. threats to withhold funding from any organisation that admitted Palestine. [389] On 31 October 2011, following the admission of Palestine to UNESCO, the Minister of Health Fathi Abu Moghli announced that the PNA would then seek membership at the WHO; [390] however, following reports that that would lead to the defunding of the entire organization by the United States – as the US had done to UNESCO after it admitted Palestine –, the Palestinian government announced that they would not be seeking membership at WHO at the time. [391] As of 2023, the WHO still refers to the territories claimed by the State of Palestine – the West Bank and Gaza – as "the Occupied Palestinian Territory".
In 2022, the State of Palestine was allowed to participate, as an observer state and under the name "Palestine", of the World Trade Organization's twelfth Ministerial Conference, held in Geneva, Switzerland. [392]
The Palestine Liberation Organization, representing the Palestinian National Authority, participates in trade liberalisation:
Treaty or convention | Signature | Ratification |
---|---|---|
Customs Union with Israel [note 12] | group="note">Established following the Oslo Accords and the Paris protocol.</ref> | |
Free Trade Agreement with the European Union [393] | 1997-02-24 [393] | 1997-07-01 [393] |
Free Trade Agreement with the European Free Trade Association [394] | 1998-11-30 [395] | 1999-07-01 [395] |
Bilateral Investment Treaty with Egypt [396] | 1998-04-28 [397] | 1999-06-19 [397] |
Free Trade Agreement with Turkey [398] | 2004-07-20 [398] | 2005-06-01 [398] |
Greater Arab Free Trade Area of the Council of Arab Economic Unity [399] | [ when? ] | [ when? ] |
Free trade agreement with Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela) [400] | 2011-12-21 [400] | |
Free trade agreement with Jordan [401] | 2012-10-07 [401] |
The Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian National Authority are jointly [note 13] accepted as party to the international agreements in the Arab Mashreq:
Treaty or convention | Signature | Ratification |
---|---|---|
On roads [403] | 2001-05-10 [403] | 2006-11-28 [403] |
On railways [404] | 2003-04-14 [404] | 2006-11-28 [404] |
On maritime transport [405] | — | 2005-05-09 [405] |
The status of Jerusalem has been described as "one of the most intractable issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict" due to the long-running territorial dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, both of which claim it as their capital city. Part of this issue of sovereignty is tied to concerns over access to holy sites in the Abrahamic religions; the current religious environment in Jerusalem is upheld by the "Status Quo" of the former Ottoman Empire. As the Israeli–Palestinian peace process has primarily navigated the option of a two-state solution, one of the largest points of contention has been East Jerusalem, which was part of the Jordanian-annexed West Bank until the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967.
China–Palestine relations, also referred to as Sino–Palestinian relations, encompasses the long bilateral relationship between China and Palestine dating back from the early years of the Cold War.
Denmark–Palestine relations refers to the contacts between Denmark and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Denmark has a representative office in Ramallah. The State of Palestine has a semi diplomatic Mission with the rank of ambassador in Copenhagen. However, Denmark has not recognized Palestine's existence and rights to sovereignty, therefore prohibiting actual relations and has somewhat antagonized the Palestinian Authority at times.
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.
Albania and Palestine established diplomatic relations in 1990. Albania had already recognized Palestine as a state since 1988. Palestine has an embassy in Tirana, but Albania does not have an embassy in Palestine. Both are member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
The State of Palestine has been accepted as an observer state of the United Nations General Assembly in November 2012. As of 2 June 2023, 139 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states have recognized the State of Palestine.
Iceland–Israel relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Iceland and Israel. Both nations are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization.
Chile–Palestine relations are the current and historical relations between the Republic of Chile and the State of Palestine. Both nations enjoy friendly relations, the importance of which centers on the history of Palestinian migration to Chile.
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 Palestine in Islamabad is the diplomatic mission of the State of Palestine in Pakistan. The present Palestinian Ambassador to Pakistan is Ahmad Rabaie
The State of Palestine has an embassy in Montevideo. The Oriental Republic of Uruguay has an embassy in Ramallah. Uruguay recognized the State of Palestine in 2011, without specifically recognizing borders. There is a small Palestinian population in Uruguay, numbering a few thousands.
The Permanent General Mission of Palestine in Tokyo is the de facto embassy of Palestine in Japan. There is no official diplomatic relations between the two nations as Japan doesn't recognize Palestine as a sovereign state. Even though the Japanese government supports a two-state solution, the status quo over diplomatic relations persisted over the years with periodic state visits between the two nations. Japan operates a representative office in Ramallah.
The Embassy of the State of Palestine in Iran is the diplomatic mission of the Palestine to Iran, located in Palestine Street in Tehran. This mission was initially managed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and currently by the State of Palestine.
Palestine–Spain relations are the bilateral and diplomatic relations between these two countries. Palestine has an embassy in Madrid. Spain has a consulate general in East Jerusalem that serves the Palestinian delegation.
Palestine–Peru relations are bilateral relations between the State of Palestine and Peru. Peru recognized Palestine as a sovereign state on 24 January 2011. Both nations are members of the Non-Aligned Movement. Palestine has an embassy in Lima.
Palestine–Slovakia relations are bilateral relations between the State of Palestine and Slovakia. The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic recognized Palestinian statehood on 18 November 1988. The two countries established diplomatic relations on 1 January 1993. The State of Palestine has an embassy in Bratislava.
Walid Ibrahim Muaqqat is a Palestinian politician and diplomat, currently serving as the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Peru since 2015. He previously represented his country in Argentina, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador and Uruguay, either on behalf of the State of Palestine, the Palestinian National Authority or the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
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