( CNN ) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree renaming the organization the `` State of Palestine , '' according to WAFA , the official Palestinian news agency . The change comes a little more than a month after the United Nations voted to upgrade the authority 's status to `` non-member observer state . '' The authority had been classified as a `` non-member observer entity '' until the November 29 vote . Abbas issued the decree Thursday , WAFA said . With the decree , Palestinian identification , passports and other documents will be branded with the new name , WAFA said . WAFA called the change a `` unique new move to the path of national independence . '' The rebranding comes amid efforts to unify rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas following the watershed U.N. vote -- widely seen as a victory for Abbas ' Fatah faction -- as well as the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza . Read more : Hamas leader unbending , but seeks Palestinian unity . After the conflict , Hamas was given approval to hold its first rally in the West Bank , which Fatah controls . Hamas , which controls Gaza , allowed Fatah to stage a rally there Saturday . Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy has also invited Abbas and Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal , who lives in Cairo , to a meeting to discuss Palestinian unity . Read more : Gaza rally called step toward unity for Fatah and Hamas .
NEW : Rebranding comes amid efforts to unify rival Palestinian factions . Decree from Mahmoud Abbas renames Palestinian Authority as the `` State of Palestine '' Change comes after the U.N. upgraded the authority 's status to `` non-member observer state '' The authority had been classified as a `` non-member observer entity '' until the vote .