Served as the headquarters for the Palestinian Liberation Organization in East Jerusalem. During the Oslo Process, the Israeli government accused the Palestinian Authority of functioning out of the Orient House in an attempt to expand Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem. In August 2001, Israel closed the Orient House, seizing files and computers. See Smith, Charles D. Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 5th ed. Boston: University of Arizona, 2004.  http://www.justvision.org/glossary/orient-house