BEIRUT, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese Cabinet has approved the establishment of diplomatic relations with "state of Palestine," local media reported on Friday.

    Following a marathon meeting late on Thursday, Information Minister Tareq Mitri announced the decision of the cabinet to set up diplomatic relations with the Palestinian state, according to Naharnet website.

    A Palestinian embassy would be established to replace an office in Beirut representing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),said Mitri shortly after midnight.

    Mitri said that no date had yet been set to carry out the decision, noting that the Lebanese cabinet, however, asked the foreign ministry to implement it.

    The PLO is a political and paramilitary organization regarded by the Arab League since October 1974 as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."

    In 1993, former PLO chairman Yasser Arafat recognized Israel in an official letter to its then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In response, Israel recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

    Arafat, who was the chairman of the PLO Executive Committee from 1969 until his death in 2004, was succeeded by Mahmoud Abbas.

    On Monday, Abbas was appointed as president of the Palestinian statehood by the Palestinian Central Council, which has around 126members representing all Palestinian factions and groups in PLO.

    Following the election, Abbas vowed to work in coordination with all Palestinian classes to establish a real independent Palestinian state.

    Some 12 Palestinian refugee camps scatter across Lebanon, which houses nearly 400,000 Palestinian refugees.