The Palestinian embassy in London was officially inaugurated on Monday by Palestinian ambassador Husam Zomlot. The official process began with the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state in September.
Zomlot, wearing a keffiyeh, unveiled the embassy’s official plaque: “Embassy of the State of Palestine."
The small ceremony was attended by senior UK officials, the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office officials, and British-Palestinians.
“For a people denied self-determination for over a century, this is a monumental moment,” Zomlot said. “Today, the Palestinian community in Britain has a home away from home – a piece of Palestine on British soil.”
The embassy building was formerly the Palestinian Mission to the UK in west London.
UK opens Palestinian embassy
Zomlot said the inauguration was a profound milestone in “British-Palestinian relations.”
The Palestinian Authority was committed to a “just and lasting peace based on international law,” the end of an Israeli military presence in the West Bank, and the fulfillment of “the rights of Palestinian refugees,” he said.
UK diplomatic representative Alistair Harrison said it was a “moment of hope” and “the beginning of a step change in our bilateral relationship.”
The UK maintains a consulate in Jerusalem for British diplomatic representation in the West Bank and Gaza, but it is not known whether it plans to open an official embassy in the Palestinian territories.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer officially recognized a Palestinian state in September. So have other states, including Australia and Canada.
Starmer made the decision as the hostage crisis and the Israel-Hamas War were still raging, saying he had done so to keep the possibility of a viable Palestinian state and two-state solution alive.
Western leaders joined Starmer in calling for a framework for peace that would have supposedly resulted in the reform of the PA, a ceasefire in Gaza, and the resumption of negotiations for a two-state solution.
No new diplomatic effort followed the recognition of a Palestinian state, and a ceasefire and hostage deal was ultimately brokered in October by US President Donald Trump.