The Palestine Liberation Organization has added a new twist to its efforts to represent itself as the embodiment of a Palestinian state.
After failing in several attempts to win diplomatic representation in various international bodies, it has begun issuing “passports” to the “State of Palestine.”
The first such document was issued this week by the PLO representative in The Hague, Afif Safieh.
It cost the equivalent of $100 and was issued to Mariam Khoury, 82, a former resident of Bethlehem who has lived in Holland since 1983.
Khoury, now a Dutch citizen, is the mother of the late Georges Khoury, the first PLO representative here, who died over two years ago.
The steep price of the passport makes it an attractive source of revenue for the PLO. Safich expressed hope that the 500 Palestinians living in the Netherlands will all apply.
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