A high-level conference on the two-state solution, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, opened yesterday in New York with the aim of advancing efforts toward a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian issue.
“The High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestinian Question and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” is being held with the goal of creating a concrete framework to support the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state and enhance prospects for lasting peace.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that the kingdom “believes that achieving security, stability, and prosperity for all the peoples of the region begins with justice for the Palestinian people and enabling them to obtain their legitimate rights, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
“This is not merely a political stance, but a firm conviction that an independent Palestinian state is the true key to peace in the region.”
Prince Faisal noted that the conference was pivotal towards initiating the two-state solution.
He revealed that the kingdom, in co-operation with France, has initiated efforts to secure the World Bank’s approval to transfer $300 million to Gaza and the West Bank.
Prine Faisal also expressed his appreciation to France, whose President Emmanuel Macron last week announced plans to formally recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.
The top Saudi diplomat also said that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza must stop.
“We stress that this humanitarian disaster, caused by war and grave Israeli violations, must stop immediately in order to end the suffering of the Palestinian people, hold those responsible accountable, and put an end to the policy of impunity, in line with the rules of international humanitarian law,” Prince Faisal said.
Discussions at the conference are expected to cover a wide range of issues, such as the structure of a unified Palestinian state, future security arrangements, peacebuilding mechanisms, reconstruction strategies, and broader international contributions to the two-state solution.
Sources have told Al Arabiya that eight committees began work in June to develop comprehensive political, economic and security visions for the state of Palestine.
Participating members include Spain, Jordan, Indonesia, Italy, Norway, Egypt, the UK, Türkiye, Mexico, Brazil, Senegal, Arab League, and the European Union, with a working group dedicated to Peace Day efforts.
There is “no alternative” to a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians, France told the conference, which was boycotted by Israel and the US.
“Only a political, two-state solution will help respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. There is no alternative,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said at the start of the three-day meeting.
Days before the conference, President Macron announced that he would formally recognise a State of Palestine in September, provoking strong opposition from Israel and the US.
Barrot said that other Western countries will confirm their intention to recognise the state of Palestine during the conference, without confirming which.
“All states have a responsibility to act now,” said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa at the start of the meeting, calling for an international force to help underwrite Palestinian statehood.
“Recognise the state of Palestine without delay.”
France is hoping that Britain will follow its lead. More than 200 British members of parliament on Friday voiced support for the idea, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that recognition of a Palestinian state “must be part of a wider plan.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the meeting “the two-state solution is farther than ever before,” decrying Israel’s “creeping annexation” of the occupied West Bank and “the wholesale destruction of Gaza.”
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said that Hamas must disarm and give up control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority to restore security in the war-torn territory.
“Israel must withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip and Hamas must relinquish its control over the strip and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority,” Mustafa said at the conference.
At least 142 of the 193 UN member states now recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed by the Palestinian leadership in exile in 1988.
In 1947, a resolution of the UN General Assembly decided on the partition of Palestine, then under a British mandate, into two independent states – one Jewish and the other Arab. The following year, the state of Israel was proclaimed.
For several decades, the vast majority of UN member states have supported the idea of a two-state solution.
But after more than 21 months of war in Gaza, the ongoing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and Israeli officials declaring designs to annex occupied territory, it is feared a Palestinian state could become geographically impossible.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said action was needed to counter Israeli “settlements, land confiscation (and) encroachments on the holy sites.”
In Brussels, the European Union’s executive body yesterday recommended curbing Israeli access to its flagship research funding programme after calls from EU countries to increase pressure on Israel to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Multiple EU countries said last week that Israel was not living up to its commitments under an agreement with the European Union on increasing aid supplies to Gaza and asked the European Commission to put concrete options on the table.
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