On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the State of Palestine and Ukraine…

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the State of Palestine and Ukraine, the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Ukraine would like to introduse an excerpt from the interview with H.E. Mr. Hashem Dajani, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Palestine to Ukraine that will be published in the 22nd issue of “Diplomatic Ukraine” Scientific Yearbook of 2021.

The Embassy will publish the complete text of the interview on the Embassy’s page on “Facebook” and on the Embassy’s website at the end of November 2021, after the official presentation of the abovementioned Yearbook will be held by the Directorate General for rendering services to diplomatic missions.

– Mr Ambassador, Palestine is a place with a long and majestic history, home to holy relics that are breath-taking for millions of people around the world, including Ukrainian tourists. Your Excellency, how do you assess the tourist links between Ukraine and Palestine?

– Palestine has always been a centre of political, cultural, social, and spiritual life. Palestine is a Holy Land and a place of great importance for all three of the world’s major religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. It is a cradle where those religions are developing, prospering, and attracting pilgrims from all over the world. Palestine is a Land of Peace, as it should be.

Ties between the two countries and friendly relations between the Ukrainian and Palestinian peoples have deep historical roots. The cornerstone of relations between them was laid when Rus has adopted Christianity. Since then, the main form of tourism that has developed and existed to the present day is pilgrimage. Over the centuries, Ukrainian pilgrims visited the Holy Land, namely the cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem. But surely, there is a great number of cities that are also worth visiting, such as Ramallah, Jericho, Nablus, Nazareth, Jenin, and Hebron, particularly in order to learn more about the traditions of Christian communities and the lifestyle of Palestinian Christians – the people who maintain and preserve sacred places.

Unfortunately, over the entire course of world history, our Land of Peace has not witnessed a real, sustainable, and lasting peace. There is no doubt that this Land must be save and open for the pilgrims of all religions and visitors from all countries of the world with unimpeded access to their holy sites. We are always glad to welcome every pilgrim.

We wish that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories ended as soon as possible, so that pilgrims, business people, and guests would be able to visit Palestine without obstacles.