Palestinians celebrate official upgrade as embassy in London to open

Upgrade comes as British government repeats call for better access for humanitarian aid organisations in Gaza

Palestinian ambassador Hussam Zomlot marks the UK's recognition of Palestine in September. Getty Images

The Palestinian embassy in London will mark its official inauguration on Monday with a ceremony, after more than 30 years of forging its diplomatic presence in the capital.

The former mission in Hammersmith, West London, was upgraded to an embassy after the UK’s landmark recognition of Palestine in September last year.

It will be led by ambassador Hussam Zomlot, a Gaza-born Harvard graduate who was previously the top Palestinian diplomat in Washington before his expulsion by US President Donald Trump in 2018.

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It comes as dozens of international aid organisations have been banned from operating in Gaza. The head the UN agency for humanitarian aid has warned this would have a “huge impact” on sustaining the pace of aid required by the Gaza peace plan.

Tom Fletcher, who leads the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the banned charities were “essential allies and partners” of the agency.

Israel notified 37 international aid groups operating in Gaza on Thursday that they were banned and would have three months to pack up and leave the strip.

“These are our essential allies and partners in the efforts to get massive amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which is so badly needed,” Mr Fletcher, a former British diplomat, told the BBC.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper this week issued a statement together with nine other nations' foreign ministers, calling on Israel to ensure “sustained and predictable” aid access into Gaza, and condemning the proposed ban.

The aid organisations are “integral to the humanitarian response”, and “any attempt to stem their ability to operate is unacceptable”, read the statement, also signed by ministers from France, Norway, Japan and Canada.

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Israel vociferously criticised the UK’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state, calling the move a reward for Hamas.

It is understood that there are no plans to officially upgrade the British consulate in Jerusalem until steps are taken towards a peace process that leads to a two-state solution.

The consulate faces questions from MPs after The National revealed that one of its members of staff owns property in a settlement that was developed by a UK-sanctioned company.

Successive Palestinian diplomats in London – including Dr Zomlot – have been known for their charismatic and steadfast advocacy of the Palestinian cause.

Afif Safieh, who established the Palestinian delegation in 1990 at the same Hammersmith premises, established the custom of referring to the top Palestinian diplomat as an ambassador.

He was followed by Prof Manuel Hassassian, a respected academic who was less formal than his predecessor, but who also joined the solidarity marches for Palestine.