Abbas orders official use of "State of Palestine"

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas gave orders Sunday for work to begin on new passports, ID cards, drivers' licenses and stamps reading "State of Palestine," official media said.

The decree, carried by the official WAFA news agency, came in the wake of the Palestinians' successful bid late last year for non-member observer state status at the United Nations over intense Israeli and US opposition.

Abbas said the changed language on official documents would help strengthen the Palestinian state "on the ground and build its institutions... and its sovereignty over the its land."

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