The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine is the head of the government ministry in charge of Palestine's foreign relations. It was established on 30 April 2003 as a ministry within the Palestinian National Authority.
History Before the establishment of the standalone Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 30 April 2003, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation handled foreign affairs from 5 July 1994 to 30 April 2003 before it was split into the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of International Cooperation, which in turn was renamed and established as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Planning was reestablished and renamed as the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation on 31 March 2024 to handle the internal and external planning affairs of the Palestinian government and enhance cooperation with countries in various fields while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates handles diplomatic foreign relations with countries.
In June 2006, Israel attacked the Hamas' foreign ministry in Gaza, in response to the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. The third and fourth floors of the building were destroyed, and the incident ended without fatalities.
Diplomatic relations
Palestine maintains diplomatic relations with 136 countries. It operates 87 embassies, 14 general delegations, 3 consulates-general and 6 special missions: a mission to the United Nations (New York), a mission to the United Nations institutions in Geneva, a mission to the United Nations institutions in Paris, an ambassador to the European Union (Brussels), a mission to the Arab League institutions in Cairo and a mission to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah.
List of ministers All-Palestine Government PortraitNameTerm of office Party Government 1 Jamal al-Husayni 22 September 1948 1953 Independent All-Palestine
Government of Palestine PortraitNameTerm of office Party GovernmentMinister of Planning and International Cooperation 1 Nabil Shaath 5 July 1994 30 April 2003 Fatah 1, 2, 3,4, 5Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates 1 Nabil Shaath 30 April 2003 24 February 2005 Fatah 6, 7, 8 2 Nasser al-Qudwa 24 February 2005 29 March 2006 Fatah 9 3 Mahmoud al-Zahar 29 March 2006 17 March 2007 Hamas 10 4 Ziad Abu Amr 17 March 2007 14 June 2007 Independent 11 5 Salam Fayyad 14 June 2007 19 May 2009 Third Way 12 6 Riyad al-Maliki 19 May 2009 31 March 2024 Independent 13, 14, 15,16, 17, 18 7 Mohammad Mustafa 31 March 2024 23 June 2025 Independent 19 8 Varsen Aghabekian 23 June 2025 Incumbent Independent 19
List of ministers of state PortraitNameTerm of office Party Government 1 Varsen Aghabekian 31 March 2024 23 June 2025 Independent 19
See also
Foreign relations of Palestine International recognition of Palestine
References
External links Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine