JAKARTA - The status of the Palestinian Representative in the United Kingdom will officially be upgraded to an embassy on Monday, after more than 30 years of the presence of its diplomatic mission in London.
The increased mission in Hammersmith, West London following Britain's recognition of the State of Palestine last September, will be marked by a ceremony today, quoted from The National (5/1).
The Palestinian Embassy will be headed by Ambassador Hussam Zomlot, a Gaza-born Harvard graduate who was previously a leading Palestinian diplomat in Washington before being expelled by US President Donald Trump in 2018.
Last September, Palestinian diplomats in London, England, raised their country's flag on Monday to mark Britain's recognition of Palestine and declared it an important step in "the long journey towards justice, liberation, and sovereignty".
Ministers, MPs and the capital's diplomatic corps gathered to congratulate the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot, along with members of the Palestinian community in London.
"In the same capital as the Balfour Declaration, after more than a century of continuous denial, expropriation and erasure, the British government has finally taken a long-overdue step to recognize the state of Palestine," he said, accompanied by British Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer and Scottish First Minister John Swinney.
"International recognition is more than just a diplomatic gesture. It is an acknowledgment that Palestine has always, always, been a people's land," said Ambassador Zomlot.
Further, he thanked "millions of people" in Britain who have taken to the streets "turning London into a movement center for Palestine" and who "chose principle over politics".
"We will always remember how you stood by our side, on the side of the right history," said Ambassador Zomlot.
Ambassador Zomlot added that the mission would officially be considered an embassy after some "legal and bureaucratic work" was completed. Accompanied by cheers, he raised high a plaque bearing the words "Embassy of the State of Palestine", which will be placed in the building.
Israel has strongly criticized the British decision to recognize the State of Palestine, calling the move a gift to Hamas.
Successive Palestinian diplomats in London - including Dr. Zomlot - are known for their charismatic and resolute advocacy of the Palestinian cause.
Afif Safieh, who founded the Palestinian delegation in 1990 at the same venue in Hammersmith, established the custom of referring to leading Palestinian diplomats as ambassadors.
He was then replaced by Professor Manuel Hassassian, a respected academic and joined the solidarity march for Palestine.
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