UNITED NATIONS (AP) — After decades of inaction and frozen negotiations, the issue of an independent Palestinian state living in peace with Israel returned to the spotlight at a high-level U.N. conference — and France and Saudi Arabia, which spearheaded the effort, are determined to keep up the momentum.
But hurdles for a two-state solution that would see Israel living side-by-side with an independent Palestine are very high.
War in Gaza — a crucial part of a hoped-for Palestinian state — drags on with escalating violence in the West Bank, the other main component. And Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government vehemently oppose an independent Palestinian state, which the Israeli leader says would be a reward for terrorism after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks against his country.
Nonetheless, after eight decades of conflict between Israel and Palestinians, pressure is growing for a two-state solution, as last week’s high-level U.N. conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia demonstrated — even if it was boycotted by Israel and its close ally, the United States.
The conference illustrated that many believe a political solution is possible
The French U.N. ambassador, Jerome Bonnafont, conceded in an Associated Press interview that without a Gaza ceasefire and massive humanitarian aid for over 2 million Palestinians sliding toward famine, “it will be extremely difficult to move forward to define a new way of administering Gaza as part of Palestine” – and he said these are priority issues.
But the conference demonstrated that a majority of the U.N.’s 193 member nations are “convinced that there is a possibility of a political solution,” he said, and that is “what its follow-up will continue to promote.”
About 160 of the U.N.’s 193 member nations participated, 125 spoke in support of a two-state solution (forcing the meeting into an unexpected third day), and between 40 and 50 were represented by a government minister.
An independent state of Palestine is recognized by over 145 countries, and the meeting sparked new pledges of recognition by three of the seven members of the powerful Group of Seven — France, United Kingdom and Canada — as well as Malta. A statement by seven others, including Australia, New Zealand, Finland and Portugal, expressed “positive consideration” of following suit.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farham are determined not to let the spotlight fade. They are planning “an event” during the annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly, which starts Sept. 23, when the new pledges are expected to be officially announced.
The conference was notable for being co-chaired by an Arab and Western nation, and for setting up eight working groups with diverse chairs to make proposals on key issues for a two state solution — security for Israel and an independent Palestine, political reforms, legal problems, humanitarian assistance, economic development and Gaza reconstruction, to name some.
The result was a seven-page “New York Declaration.” The French and Saudi foreign ministers sent the declaration, with a lengthy annex of recommendations from the working groups, to all 193 U.N. members and asked them to endorse it by early September, before the world leaders’ gathering. The declaration, which also was endorsed by the European Union and Arab League, urges Israel to commit to a Palestinian state, and urges further recognitions as “an essential and indispensable component of the achievement of the two-state solution.”
The declaration contains some stronger language
For the first time, the Arab League’s 22 member nations condemned “the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians” in southern Israel on Oct. 7, and agree that “Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.”
It sets out a plan to then move to an independent, demilitarized Palestine, including deployment of a U.N. Security Council-mandated “temporary international stabilization mission” supported by the Palestinian Authority. It would protect civilians, help build support for a Palestinian state and its security forces, and provide “security guarantees for Palestine and Israel.”
Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s U.N. director, gave French President Emmanuel Macron credit “for raising the level of ambition for the conference,” and helping make it “more symbolically significant than many diplomats expected.”
The meeting gave weighty states including France, Britain and Canada the opportunity “to signal their discontent with Israeli policy,” he said, and it gave Palestinians seeking a peaceful road to statehood “some political ammunition.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who hosted a Hamas delegation in Istanbul last week to discuss Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and stalled ceasefire talks, noted growing global support for the Palestinians and a Palestinian state — and Israel’s increasing isolation.
Bonnafont, the French ambassador, had messages for Israel’s opponents and Israelis seeking more territory.
“We say to those who are hostile to Israel, the way to peace is certainly not to deny the right of existence to Israel. This is the way to perpetual war,” Bonnafont said. “And the real way to defend the Palestinians is to give them a state, and the only way to give them a state is a two-state solution — and we have demonstrated concretely that this solution exists and is feasible.”
