Palestine Hotel (Baghdad City)

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The Palestine Hotel is an 18-story hotel in Baghdad, Iraq located on Firdos Square, across from the Ishtar Hotel. It has long been favored by journalists and media personnel.

The hotel was built in 1982 by the Iraqi government and managed by French hotelier Meridien Hotels as the Palestine Meridien Hotel. UN-imposed sanctions following the Gulf War led the chain, by then named Le Méridien, to dissociate itself from the hotel, which was subsequently renamed the Palestine Hotel. The mark on the building where the "Meridien" name once was is visible in the second photo.

Starting with the 1991 Gulf War and continuing through the 2003 invasion of Iraq, this was one of several hotels Western and other foreign media used to cover situations that developed in Iraq.

A controversial incident occurred during the 2003 invasion of Baghdad. On April 8, 2003, an American tank fired a shell on the hotel, killing two journalists, Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and wounded three. José Couso of Telecinco Spanish television who was on the 14th floor also died.