Palestinian flag raised at United Nations for the first time

The ceremony was attended by the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas.

The Palestinian flag has been raised for the first time at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas attended the ceremony.

Mahmoud Abbas has been Palestinian President since 2005 (AFP/Getty)

Mr Abbas addressed the UN General Assembly warning that Palestine is no longer bound by agreements signed with Israel.

"As long as Israel refuses to commit to the agreements signed with us, which render us an authority without real powers, and as long as Israel refuses to cease settlement activities and to release the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners in accordance with our agreements, they leave us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of these agreements, while Israel continuously violates them".

The agreements known as the Oslo Accords were signed in 1995 by Mr Abbas and then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The accords led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority, a body which was intended to lead to a peace process, but an agreement has never been reached.