RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Brazil’s senate passed a bill to donate an area in the country’s capital city for a building to house Palestinian representation to the country.
Senators at the foreign affairs and national defense commission declared last Friday that the area in Brasilia must be used for a building to host the Palestinian Special Delegation.
"The bill has not approved land for an embassy," Sen. Cristovam Buarque clarified.
The donation has been discussed for 10 years. The special delegation members now work out of a house in the capital.
Palestinian representative Ibrahim Al-Zeben, who has ambassador status conferred by the Brazilian government, is enthusiastic about the donation.
"We hope to launch the cornerstone of a new embassy by March," Al-Zeben said to Brazilian reporters.
