The Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Wednesday. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who attended the Palestinian flag-raising ceremony at the U.N, declared that the historic moment would lead to Palestine's independence, reported the Associated Press.
"In this historical moment, I say to my people everywhere: raise the flag of Palestinians very high because it is the symbol of our identity. It is a proud day," Abbas said, according to AFP.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, who also attended the flag-raising ceremony, called the day one of pride and hope for Palestinians around the world and urged renewed efforts to achieve the two-state solution.
"I sincerely hope that a successful peace process will soon yield a day when we unfurl the Palestinian flag in its proper place - among the family of nations as a sovereign Member State of the United Nations," the U.N. chief said, according to a statement.
The unfurling of flags of the U.N.'s non-member states, Palestine and Vatican, took place weeks after the world body passed a motion in this regard.
The Palestinian leader, in his United Nations General Assembly speech on Wednesday, warned that his government is not obliged to follow a peace agreement with Israel. He accused Israel of unilaterally violating the Oslo Accord on several occasions.
"As long as Israel refuses to cease settlement activities and to release of the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners in accordance with our agreements, they leave us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of these agreements," Abbas told the world leaders, according to BBC.
