Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Palestine)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Arabic: وزارة الخارجية wuzārat al-khārjiyah) is one of the most important ministries under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Palestine. It is responsible for representing Palestine abroad via the nation's network of foreign missions (embassies), which are staffed and maintained by ministry personnel. It was established on 5 July 1979 in an executive decree drafted by President Rifaf Khan and signed by Prime Minister Kamal Nasser and the Palestine Arab Congress, naming the ministry the official successor to the pre-1967 Ministry of the Exterior. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is appointed by the President of Palestine and answerable to the Prime Minister.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is headquartered in the Bab el-Zahara borough of Jerusalem. Anwar el-Aita is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Rami Hamdallah is the current Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations, the second highest ranking office in the ministry.

United Nations Representative Directorate
The administrative apparatus under the Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations, including several subordinate support units and a press relations division.

Foreign Relations Directorate
Embassies are staffed by an ambassador, who is appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and immediately subordinate to the Director of Foreign Relations. Many ambassadors oversee other consulates in different cities of the same country, which are subordinate to the embassy. In addition to regular diplomatic staff, all embassies and most consulates host a bureaucrat and sometimes one or two liaison officers from the Joint Security Committee, ostensibly to assist with visa and immigration requests.

Countries hosting a Palestinian embassy (and possibly additional location/s known as consulates) overseen by the Minister of Foreign Affairs include:


 * Afghanistan
 * Algeria
 * Angola
 * Argentina
 * Australia (and 2 consulates)
 * Austria
 * Barbados
 * Bosnia &amp; Herzegovina
 * Brazil (and 2 consulates)
 * Cambodia
 * Canada (and 3 consulates)
 * People's Republic of China (and 2 consulates)
 * Colombia
 * Croatia
 * Cuba
 * Republic of Cyprus
 * Denmark
 * Egypt
 * Estonia
 * Ethiopia
 * Finland
 * Germany
 * Hungary
 * Iceland
 * India (and 2 consulates)
 * Indonesia (and 1 consulate)
 * Iran (and 1 consulate)
 * Iraq (and 1 consulate)
 * Republic of Ireland
 * Jamaica
 * Japan (and 1 consulate)
 * Jordan
 * Kazakhstan
 * Kosovo
 * Latvia
 * Lebanon
 * Liberia
 * Libya
 * Lithuania
 * Malaysia
 * Malta
 * Mexico
 * Morocco
 * Myanmar
 * Netherlands
 * Nigeria
 * North Korea
 * Norway
 * Oman
 * Pakistan (and 1 consulate)
 * Paraguay
 * Philippines
 * Portugal
 * Qatar
 * Rangya
 * Russia (and 2 consulates)
 * Saudi Arabia (and 1 consulate)
 * Serbia
 * Somalia
 * South Africa (and 2 consulates)
 * Spain (and 1 consulate)
 * Sri Lanka
 * Sudan
 * Sweden
 * Switzerland (and 1 consulate)
 * Syria (and 1 consulate)
 * Tunisia
 * Turkey (and 1 consulate)
 * Turkmenistan
 * United Arab Emirates (and 1 consulate)
 * United Kingdom
 * United States
 * Uzbekistan
 * Vietnam (and 1 consulate)
 * Yemen (and 1 consulate)

Foreign Services Directorate

 * National Immigration Office: Administers the application process for foreign nationals to obtain entry, work or other types of visas.
 * National Passport Office: Issues passports and related travel documents to citizens and permanent residents, handles reports of lost or stolen documents.
 * National Extraordinary Relief Agency: Provides emergency assistance to Palestinian nationals in crisis abroad.
 * Foreign Aid and Development Office: Responsible for realising and overseeing the Palestinian government's commitments to foreign relief and development programs.
 * Foreign Revenue Office: Responsible for investigating illegal concealment of taxable income by Palestinian nationals abroad, including via audits with or without foreign government cooperation.
 * Foreign Legal Office: Provides legal representation and appropriate assistance to Palestinian nationals in legal trouble abroad.
 * Global Security Office: Responsible for liaising between national security agencies and friendly foreign governments, in order to jointly improve national security policy and diplomatic cooperation.
 * International Trade Office: Responsible for overseeing the national foreign trade sector, including enforcing tariff and nationalisation laws.
 * National Foreign Strategy Office: Responsible for coordinating between Palestinian foreign missions and the central government to develop a more coherent national foreign policy.
 * National Refuge and Asylum Agency: Administers national policy regarding refugees and other asylum-seekers, which is distinct from the standard entry, tourism and work visa application process administered by the National Immigration Office.