PLO leaders hosted a Ramadan event in east Jerusalem late Monday, in the first official Palestinian gathering in the 18 years since Israel imposed a ban on such activities in the holy city.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior PLO leader, and Adnan Husseini, the Palestinian Authority governor of Jerusalem, hosted the Iftar meal and briefed diplomats on a bid to join the United Nations in the coming months.

Standing in front of Palestinian and PLO flags overlooking the Old City, Ashrawi told reporters that the continued closure of institutions like the Chamber of Commerce and the former headquarters of the Palestinian negotiating team prejudged the fate of Jerusalem, which Israel considers its capital.

"All of these illegal actions are in direct violation of signed agreements and international conventions," she said, condemning the closures along with settlements and discriminatory residency laws.

"Without Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, there will be no Palestinian state, and without a Palestinian state, there will be no peace or stability in the region," she stressed.

Ashrawi also appealed to the international community to support a plan to join the UN and to continue providing support for the Palestinian Authority if the United States cuts funding again.

US diplomats were not present at the Iftar but every Jerusalem-based representative from Latin America, Asia and Africa who was in town attended, a Palestinian official told Ma'an. Each European Union member state also sent an envoy with the exception of a few smaller delegations, the official said.

PLO representatives said Monday's event was the first to be held with official Palestinian sponsorship in Jerusalem since Israel shut down their offices in 1994. Such events are generally banned from taking place in the city, which Israel occupied in 1967 before annexing it in a move never recognized abroad.

In February, Israeli authorities shut down the launch of an online news service under the pretext that it was sponsored by the Palestinian Authority. Organizers denied the accusation.