Foreign relations of the Palestinian National Authority

The US has reduced funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East by almost 33 percent, according to multiple published reports.

Arab states will soon embark on a diplomatic drive to persuade the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said.

Turkey will gear up diplomatic efforts to increase the number of countries recognizing Palestine as a state and to strengthen its economy as part of a three-phase roadmap for its Jerusalem bid following a U.N. General Assembly vote that overwhelmingly voted against Washington’s recognition of the holy city as Israel’s capital. 

35 countries abstained from voting on Thursday in New York.

Those who voted against the resolution included the United States, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Togo.

Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina were among those who abstained.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has agreed to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine in an extraordinary summit held in Istanbul.

Ambassador Mohamed Nabhan on Thursday informed President Aleksandar Vucic about Palestine's reaction to the US recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"Vucic, on the other hand, expressed the unchanged attitude of Serbia towards the friendly Palestinian people," Beta has reported, citing a statement issued by the press service of the Serbian president.

The Greek parliament on Tuesday voted unanimously to recognize Palestine as a state, it has been reported.

The voting took place during the official visit to Athens of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who met with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

A special session of Greek Parliament is being held on Tuesday, in the presence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to give recognition to the state of Palestine.  Abbas was welcomed in Greece on Monday as head of state by parliament president Nikos Voutsis and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Clashes broke out on Sunday on the West Bank city of Hebron in the shooting of a woman from Palestine, aged 35, after she tried to stab Israeli soldier in the latest of a series of clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli security forces.

Greece supports the creation of a Palestinian state based on the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Thursday in statements after the meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

He also announced that Mr. Abbas will visit Athens on December 21 for a two-day visit.