The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Tuesday signed an agreement with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on renovating Muqata, Palestinian presidential headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Speaking to reporters after the signing ceremony, Abbas Office Director Rafik Husseini said, "We need a new headquarters for the president, where he can meet world leaders and deal with the world in a civilized and modern manner."

UNDP Special Representative Timothy Rothermel said President of Palestine is in dire need of a new presidential headquarters, for he has to face "more challenges and responsibilities than others."

Under the deal, Japan will finance the rebuilding of the compound with an undisclosed amount under coordination between the UNDP and the PNA.

Minister of Housing and Public Works Muhammad Shtayyeh, who will oversee the reconstruction, disclosed that the headquarters is called as "whole new Muqata" in the renovation plan.

The initial plan presented by Shtayyeh shows that the "whole new Muqata" will be a modern building with four storeys and a garden.

The project may start within a month after a public bidding, Shtayyeh said, adding the new building will be completed within 12 months.

Muqata, considered the stronghold of late leader Yasser Arafat who passed away last November, had been severely damaged by the Israeli army.

Muqata, built in the 1930s during the British mandate in the Palestinian territories, also served as Israeli military headquarters between 1967 and 1996.

Arafat was buried at Muqata.

Source: Xinhua