Orient House, Jerusalem

Located behind the Tombs of the Kings, Orient House served as the Jerusalem office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) during the 1980s and 1990s. Originally constructed in 1897, the house belonged to the Al-Husseini family, one of the prominent Palestinian political clans. Despite not being officially recognized by Israel, it functioned almost like a Palestinian embassy during the Oslo Peace Accords era (1993-2001), drawing protests from the Israeli government whenever foreign dignitaries visited.

Following a devastating suicide bomb attack in West Jerusalem in August 2001 during the Second Intifada, which claimed the lives of fifteen people, the Israeli cabinet made the decision to shut down the Orient House. Subsequently, Israeli security forces raided the building, confiscating personal belongings, sensitive documents related to the Jerusalem issue, materials referencing the 1991 Madrid Conference, and the Arab Studies Society photography collection. In the same operation, other Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, including the Governor's House and Force 17 headquarters, were also closed and subjected to raids.

In January 2010, during a meeting of the Quartet on the Middle East, representatives from the European Union and Russia proposed reopening Orient House and other Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem as a means of encouraging the Palestinian Authority to resume negotiations. This suggestion came after George Mitchell revealed that Palestinian representatives had insisted on halting all Israeli settlement activity in the eastern part of the city before returning to the negotiation table.