The Palestinian ambassador to Portugal thanked the Portuguese Government and people for recognizing her State, at the end of a ceremony in which she replaced the “diplomatic representation” sign with that of “embassy”.
The ceremony, which was attended by several ambassadors and diplomats and members and supporters of the Palestinian community in Portugal, took place at the Palestinian embassy in Lisbon, following Portugal’s recognition of the Palestinian State, formally assumed at the United Nations on September 21st.
“We thank the Portuguese Government for this historic recognition, something that we will always remember and celebrate with pride, joy, gratitude and appreciation”, said the ambassador, Rawan Sulaiman, on the sidelines of the ceremony.
“I also thank the Portuguese people, who continue to receive me with such cordiality. I thank them for their support, their solidarity, for believing in the right of my people to live with dignity and freedom, without occupation, without genocide, without ‘apartheid’ and without forced settlements”, he added.
Assuming to be “very happy and proud” to represent the State of Palestine in Portugal, Rawan Sulaiman, highlighted that the “historic moment” does not mean the beginning of new relations, but rather “a new chapter”.
“We have enjoyed beautiful relations with Portugal since the 1980s. Our flag has been flying in Lisbon for many years”, he guaranteed, adding that the initiative only aimed to “mark a new chapter in relations, with the change that this entails”.
These relations will from now on be “state to state”, he recalled.
The ambassador also said that, despite “the pain, the loss and the devastation, the devastating situation in [seu] country”, feels grateful to live in the moment.
“There is always space and opportunity to be happy and proud”, he concluded.
Portugal’s recognition of the State of Palestine took place in a week in which the same decision was formalized by nine other countries, at a high-level conference on the two-state solution (Israel and Palestine) in the region, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
In addition to Portugal, France, Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Malta, the United Kingdom and San Marino also recognized Palestine.
Portugal’s decision was applauded by the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who considered it “an important and necessary step” to achieve “a just and lasting peace, based on international legitimacy”, while the ambassador in Lisbon defined it as “a clear message” sent to the Israeli Government about the rights of Palestinians.
For his part, Israel’s ambassador in Lisbon, Oren Rozenblat, rejected the Portuguese “unilateral recognition” of the State of Palestine, which he considered a “misguided declaration” that “damages any prospect of peace and only serves to reward terrorism”.
The official existence of an embassy can only happen when the host country recognizes the represented country as a sovereign State and its leader as an ambassador and official representative of the interests of the country of origin.
The ambassador has the ability to negotiate agreements and maintain diplomatic and institutional relations, and the embassy is considered the territory of the country of origin (in this case, Palestine), operating under the laws of that country.