Top Palestinian Authority honors given to Putin, Xi Jinping, Maduro, and Chavez: "Star of Palestine" to enemies of the West
The Palestinian Authority's highest decoration, known as the Star of Palestine, is not awarded to just anyone. Outside of Arab heads of state, this award has been given by the PA only to its closest ideological allies – all notorious dictators in the anti-Western axis: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Nicolas Maduro, and Hugo Chavez. The award—a sign of the PA's deep ideological affinity with China, Russia, and Venezuela—has not been given by the PA to any leader of a Western democracy.
In 2017, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas awarded Chinese President Xi Jinping the Star of Palestine.
In 2012, Abbas presented Vladimir Putin with the Star of Palestine.
The awards for these two leaders of the anti-American axis is an expression of the PA's loathing for the US and is a further expression of the PA's future ideal world order in which China and Russia replace the US as the global leader. As expressed more than once by Mahmoud Abbas' senior advisor Mahmoud Al-Habbash:
"The world must get rid of the [American] unipolar system… otherwise the world will turn into a prisoner of just one world power [America]. The US is attempting to maintain this imperialist hegemony over the world by presenting itself as the world's only pole, but Russia can achieve this balance together with the Islamic and Arab world and also with China."
[Website of Sputnik Arabic, Russian state-owned news agency, June 12, 2024]
"The Islamic world can be a superpower… it is capable of constituting a world power together with Russia and China to formulate a new world order that will realize justice."
[WAFA, official PA news agency, May 16, 2024]
Fatah General Commissioner for Arab and China Relations Abbas Zaki worded it that China "is qualified to save humanity" from "the Zionist-American alliance" [Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, Facebook page, April 20, 2025].
As part of the PA aspiration for a China-dominated world, Abbas has repeatedly expressed his support for China taking over Taiwan:
"The president [Abbas] reemphasized the State of Palestine's support for the 'One China' policy adopted by the People's Republic of China in maintaining its territorial integrity, and its opposition to interference in China's internal affairs."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 8, 2026]
The additional communist dictators who received the Star of Palestine award were Venezuelan leaders Nicolas Maduro and Hugo Chávez, central actors in international smuggling and drugs in support of terrorist regimes. Maduro received it from Abbas in 2014 and Chávez was given the award on the same day as well, posthumously.
Maduro, who is currently set to be tried by the US for narco-terrorism, was celebrated by Abbas:
"Thank you to President Maduro, a dear friend... We also hope to receive our friend President Maduro... in our country, Palestine, very soon."
[Mahmoud Abbas, Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), May 16, 2014]
Absent from the PA's medal roster are the United States or other Western democracies. The pattern is clear, and these are not mere diplomatic gestures. These are declarations of ideological allegiance, which must set off alarms in those Western democracies that are considering recognizing a Palestinian state. A future Palestinian state would not be an ally of the West but would join and strengthen the anti-Western axis from day one.