Forceful pleas at UN for two-state solution for Israel, Palestinians

NEW YORK - There is no alternative to a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, France told a UN conference co-chaired with Saudi Arabia on July 28 that was boycotted by Israel and branded a stunt by Washington.

“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, French President Emmanuel Macron announced he would formally recognise Palestinian statehood in September, provoking strong opposition from Israel and the US.

Luxembourg hinted on July 28 that it could follow France and recognise a Palestinian state in September, with the possibility that other countries could announce similar plans when the conference resumed on July 29.

“All states have a responsibility to act now,” said Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa at the start of the conference.

Mr Mustafa called for an international force to help underwrite Palestinian statehood.

He called for the world to recognise Palestinian statehood, while later demanding that Hamas surrender control of the Gaza Strip and its arms as part of a deal to end fighting in the territory.

Mr Mustafa said 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,” he said at the conference in New York.

France is hoping Britain will follow its lead. More than 200 British MPs on Friday voiced support for the idea, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer said recognition of a Palestinian state “must be part of a wider plan”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the meeting that “the two-state solution is farther than ever before”.

According to an AFP database, 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, in a resolution approved by the General Assembly, the UN decided to partition Palestine, then under a British mandate, into Jewish and Arab states. Israel was proclaimed in 1948.

For decades, most UN members have supported a two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian state existing side by side.

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 that a Palestinian state could become geographically impossible.

The current war in Gaza started following a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel, which responded with a large-scale military response that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives and destroyed most infrastructure in the enclave.

Mr Barrot said it would be an “illusion to think that you can get to a lasting ceasefire without having an outline of what’s going to happen in Gaza after the end of the war and having a political horizon”.

‘Israeli unilateral actions’

Beyond facilitating conditions for recognising Palestine, the meeting will focus on three other issues: Reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalisation of relations with Israel by Arab states.

However, no new normalisation deals are expected to be announced at the meeting, according to a French diplomatic source.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said US President Donald Trump could be a “catalyst” to ending the war in Gaza and jump-starting the two-state solution, stressing Riyadh had no plans to normalise relations with Israel.

Following his plea to Mr Trump, the US State Department labelled the three-day event “unproductive and ill-timed”, as well as a “publicity stunt” that would make finding peace harder.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said action was needed to counter Israeli “settlements, land confiscation (and) encroachments on the holy sites”.

Israel and the US were not taking part in the meeting, amid growing international pressure on Israel to end nearly two years of war in Gaza. AFP